371: Avoid Symptom Squashing: Understanding Your Body's Signals

Avoid Symptom Squashing: Understanding Your Body's Signals

When we experience pain or discomfort, our instinct is often to get rid of it as quickly as possible. We reach for an Advil, use an ice bath, or perhaps a massage gun. While these methods might offer temporary relief, they can prevent us from addressing the root problem.

Your body's symptoms are its way of communicating with you. Instead of immediately seeking to get rid of the discomfort, what if we approached these signs with curiosity? What is your body trying to tell you here? 

Recognizing the Signs

Pain, discomfort, fatigue—these are all messages from our bodies. By learning to interpret them properly, we can avoid mere symptom relief and instead focus on lasting solutions. As a physical therapist, I've seen it so many times.  People just want the band-aid solution, the temporary fix to get back on the road as soon as possible, rather than digging a little deeper to really figure out what's going on.  If we're only looking at the surface symptoms, it's likely that this problem or other related problems will continue to surface until we solve the root issue.

Breaking Down Symptoms: Pain vs. Soreness

Is it pain or just soreness? Use these three factors to help you figure it out:

• Quality: Is the sensation sore, achy, sharp, stabbing, or burning?
• Intensity: How intense is the discomfort on a scale of 1 to 10?
• Duration: How long does the discomfort last?

While soreness from workouts is normal and usually resolves in 1-2 days, prolonged pain could indicate a more serious issue requiring attention.

The Checklist

When you start to notice your symptoms as signs, it's important to then learn how to interpret them.  What is your body trying to tell you here? 

Here's a checklist I like to go through with my clients to help them figure out which areas of their life and training might need some attention.

Body: 

Has your training load changed recently? 

Increased mileage? 

Increased weights, reps, sets, or resistance in strength training?

New training plan? 

Have you been consistent with your mobility, stretching, and drills? 

Recovery and Nutrition: 

Are you getting enough sleep? 

Taking enough recovery after hard workouts? 

Eating enough? 

Fueling before and after your workouts? 

Hydrating well? 

Mind and Stress Management:

What else is going on in your life that might be causing stress? 

How are you handling it? 

Are you feeling more anxious about anything in your life? 

After reviewing our checklist—mind, body, and lifestyle—we encourage you to make small, targeted adjustments to see how your bodies respond.

The main takeaway? Symptoms are not inconveniences to be squashed, but important clues from your body. By listening and responding appropriately, you can achieve a harmonious balance that promotes health and well-being.

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