Pain science
Hurt and harm are not the same thing
Pain is an output of the nervous system, not a damage meter. Knowing the difference changes what you are willing to do.
Tomas Reiner
6 min
Two different things
Tissue damage and pain often travel together in the first days of an injury. After that they drift apart, sometimes a long way apart.
What it means in rehab
Some discomfort during loading is expected and safe. We use a simple rule: up to four out of ten during the exercise, settled within a day, no worse the next morning.
Where it does not apply
New trauma, night pain that wakes you, unexplained weight loss or fever. Those get sent on, not loaded.