Most training decisions about pain happen in a grey area: it aches, it is not agony, and you have a session planned. Advice tends to be either "listen to your body", which means nothing, or "push through", which is how niggles become injuries.
This is a usable framework, and a clear list of what it does not cover.
Why trust this
This page describes commonly used clinical reasoning for load management. It is not a diagnosis and it does not replace a physiotherapist or a doctor. The red flags below are the specific cases where the honest answer is to stop reading and go and see someone.
Stop now and get assessed
Any of these means this framework does not apply to you:
- Sharp or stabbing pain, particularly if it stops you mid-movement.
- Swelling in a joint.
- Pain that wakes you at night or is present at rest.
- Pins and needles, numbness or weakness down a limb.
- A joint giving way or locking.
- Pain following a specific traumatic moment: a pop, a snap, a fall.
- Pain that has not changed at all in six weeks despite modification.
None of those is a "manage it yourself" situation.
The grey area framework
For everything else, three questions.
1. What does it do during the session?
| During | Verdict | |---|---| | Eases as you warm up | Usually fine to train, modified | | Stays the same throughout | Usually fine, monitor closely | | Gets worse as you go | Stop that movement today | | Changes how you move | Stop. Compensation creates the next injury |
2. What does it do afterwards?
Settled within 24 hours means the load was acceptable. Still elevated at 24 hours means you did too much; reduce next time. Worse the following day, or worse day on day across a week, means stop and get it looked at.
3. Is it getting better week on week?
This is the one people skip. A niggle that is 10% better each week is resolving and you can keep working around it. A niggle that has been identical for a month is not resolving, and doing the same thing for another month will not change that.
What "modify" actually means
Modification is not "do the same session more gently". It is changing a specific variable.
Reduce range. Squat to a box. Partial press-ups. Often removes the painful portion entirely.
Reduce load, keep the movement. Half the weight, same pattern, more reps.
Change the movement, keep the pattern. Goblet squat instead of back squat. Trap bar instead of conventional.
Change the tool. Bike instead of running. Rowing instead of both.
Train the other side and the rest of you. An irritable shoulder is not a reason to stop training legs, and the training you keep doing is what makes coming back quick.
The goal is to keep the habit and the rest of your fitness while the irritated tissue calms.
The mistakes that turn niggles into injuries
Complete rest by default. Rest removes the irritation and also removes the loading that tissue needs to become tolerant. Most persistent niggles do better with reduced load than with none.
Testing it constantly. Poking the sore movement every session to see if it still hurts is itself the load that keeps it irritated.
Coming back at full load. The most common way a resolved niggle returns. Build back over two to three weeks, not one session.
Taking painkillers to train. Masking the signal you were using to make decisions is a bad trade.
Waiting to see. Six weeks of unchanged pain is six weeks you could have spent fixing it.
Honest limitations
This is a framework for the grey area, not a diagnosis, and it deliberately does not tell you what your specific pain is. Two people with identical symptoms can have entirely different causes.
If you have a diagnosed condition, are post-surgical, or the pain is in your chest, get professional advice rather than applying general rules.
And a physiotherapist assessment is one of the better-value things in this sport. One session often resolves weeks of guessing.
Next step
If a niggle is the reason your training keeps stopping, the fitness assessment quiz will help identify what you can work on meanwhile.
Or get in touch for a free consultation with Ben, including an honest answer about whether you need a coach or a physio first.
Related
[ FAQ ]
Frequently asked
Should you train through pain?
It depends on the pain. Mild discomfort that stays the same or improves as you warm up, and settles within 24 hours, is usually trainable with modification. Pain that increases during a session, changes how you move, or lingers past 24 hours is not.
How do you know if a niggle is serious?
Sharp or stabbing pain, swelling, pain that wakes you at night, pins and needles or numbness, a joint giving way, or pain following a specific traumatic moment. Any of those means stop and get assessed rather than manage it yourself.
Should you rest completely with an injury?
Rarely. Complete rest is the right answer for a small number of acute injuries and the wrong answer for most persistent niggles, which respond better to modified loading than to stopping entirely.
Written by
The Suth Performance teamCoaches and editors
The Suth Performance programming team, led by HYROX Elite 15 athlete Ben Sutherland. They write the training, technique and race-day guides on this site, and Ben reviews every one before it is published.
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