When it comes to physical fitness, there are both good pains and bad pains. The good pains are the ones where you know you are working hard. Your muscles are taut, and you can feel them working hard as you pick up that barbell one last time. Pushing yourself has a line in the sand, however. If you ever start feeling certain pains while working out, you need to immediately stop, check your situation, and assess your pain. Below, we have five pains that you should never ignore while working out, and if you experience them, you might want to check in with your doctor.
Groin Tenderness
Those that like to squat might know of the soreness you can feel in the groin area after a good leg day workout. However, sudden tight pain in the groin area might be a sign of something more than muscle soreness. It could easily be a muscle cramp or something worse like a pulled muscle. If you experience the pain after trying the same workout, you should stop to let the muscle rest. This means forgoing the squats for a few days or weeks until the muscle heals completely.
Neck or Head
You should never, and I repeat never, ignore the pain in the head or neck while working out. Sudden pain in either area, especially while lifting or squatting with weights, might mean something like an overloaded blood vessel from a muscle spasm or pressure. Looking at your form can help eliminate this issue, but if you experience sudden pain in the head or neck, stop right away because it could cause serious problems and strains in the body.
Back Pain
If you are a lifter who loves weights, you might want to be careful of your back. Some aches are normal, but if you begin to feel sharp pains in your back, you need to stop immediately. Sharp pain is usually a good sign that something is off with your back like a pinched nerve or a slipped disc. These are serious conditions that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you are in such sharp pain, you need to immediately see your doctor for an assessment of the injury to your back. Since it holds you up, you need to protect it by using the correct stances.
Ankles and Knees
One of the parts of the body that you should protect is your ankles and knees. While you might experience a little popping in the knees and ankles, intense knee popping and ankle popping is not a good thing. If you start feeling pulling or tugging at the joints that hurt, stop your workout. It doesn’t take much to cause injury to these gentle joints, and since they are important joints for the body, you should take care of them. You should take extra caution to avoid knee and ankle pain when working out.
Shin Pain
If you are experiencing shin pain, then chances are you have something called Shin Splints. This condition is very common in runners, and it is a result of the continual pounding of the tibia bone while running. Some shin pain isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but extreme shin pain might be an indication of something worse. If you have experience shin pain as long as two weeks consecutively, you should see a sports specialist to look at your issue.
Conclusion
Working out is an important part of many people’s daily life. It is a way to stay in shape, stay healthy, and stay happy. However, sometimes working out can leave your body feeling less than grand, especially if you sustain an injury during your workout. If you ever feel sharp pains in places like your head, neck, groin, shins, knees, or ankles, then you should stop your workout immediately to assess the situation. In some cases, you might have to visit your doctor for a prognosis, but most times you just need to change your form or take a rest. It is important to keep yourself safe while working out to remain in optimal shape.
