The pleasant burn experienced after exercise indicates that you’ve been put through your paces, and that your muscles are growing and repairing as they should. Of course, in order to deal with this pain, you need to know how to distinguish between normal pain and pain requiring medical intervention. This will help you identify the best ways to shorten your recovery time and keep you going.

When is pain ‘good’ or ‘bad’?

Everyone reacts to exercise differently. Some people get stiff after a mild workout while others can put in a solid effort and remain discomfort-free. Most of us lie somewhere in between, experiencing a bearable amount of stiffness and soreness after a vigorous workout. This pain normally fades in less than a week and doesn’t stop you from continuing exercising.

If you find that your pain is stabbing and localised, it could be a torn or pulled muscle. Sharp joint pain and pain that gets worse also indicates you should seek a medical opinion and stop exercising immediately.

Exercising through the ‘good’ pain

If the discomfort is how your body normally reacts to exercise, you can keep going. However, you don’t need to suffer in silence. Here are a few natural treatment options and activities that can reduce the pain and get you going again faster:

1. Generally, warming up – and down – will help your body throughout an intense session If you’re exercising with a trainer in a direct or class environment, make sure you ask them for feedback on your techniques to make sure that you’re engaging your muscles in the correct way.
2. Try to switch up your exercises so you aren’t putting constant strain on a single muscle group and are giving them a day or two to recover between sessions.This will help keep you motivated by keeping the exercises interesting as well!
3. Try a hot bath to help with blood circulation and movement of the muscles. Or cold compression if swelling is a concern.
4. There are a number of natural pain relief liniments and sprays that can be applied to localised areas experiencing pain or act as a support to help warm up muscles and speed up blood circulation to prevent muscular injury or strains.

Always remember to listen to your body above all and you’ll be able to deal with any kind of pain more effectively.

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