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When is something really an injury?

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April 29, 2025•4 min read

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When is something really an injury?

As runners or athletes we will find ourselves in various sorts of aches and pains. Sometimes those problems resolve themselves and sometimes they don't. The problem is we have all had enough little problems that resolve themselves and so we just assume all of our pains will do this. Until they don't. And now we are 3 months in and having to avoid the activities we love. Below we will go through a few guidelines including some questions to ask yourself and determine is it worth getting looked at.

Time Aspects of Pain

Acuity: How soon did the pain come on? If pain is sudden and immediate there is a higher likelihood of injury, such as happens with ankle sprains or a severe muscle strain. These issues hit hard and fast. Long term pain that has become chronic can lead to other issues and tissue breakdown leading to injury.

Duration: Does it come and go with activity? Are you having pain into the night affecting sleep? Sometimes a pain pops up on a run or workout and its there and you notice it and keep going and it goes away. When it begins to persist through the workout or run, or continue well after the activity is complete it is better to get it looked at.

Pain Quality

Intensity: A lot of people will say they have a high pain tolerance, so this variable can be difficult. Are you having to take pain medication or use ice and balms to manage your day or sleep, or even to perform the activity? Pain that is strong enough to warrant you to take medication is usually to a level that needs addressed.

Avoidance: One or two days of rest after a flare up is smart, but if you find yourself continuing to avoid getting back into an activity you should question if its more than just a flare up.

How it Affects Performance

Compensation: How has the affected tissue affected the areas around it? If you have something irritated and are adjusting stride or movement patterns other areas will start to take a load they are not used to and cause further pain.

Tolerance: How much have you had to reduce load? Is you pain/irritation causing you to run less or lift lighter, or completely avoid certain motions? Downscaling is a good decision when things pop up, but if you are unable to return to your base prior to the pain then it might be worse than you think.

What should you do?

High priority: Sudden acute pain. Limits your ability to continue. Or is persisting after several days. Get into PT as soon as you can for assessment and evaluation to identify the problem and ensure recovery.

Moderate priority: Pain that comes and goes during activity. Might limit performance or is beginning to cause compensations. Start with backing off intensity and load and focus on recovery. If pain does not improve in a week, get into PT to get back on track with recovery and return to sport.

Low priority: Occasional pain or irritation, might limit tolerance for a day or 2, but you bounce back. Do home remedies like active recovery, stretching, and strengthening.

We as Doctors of Physical Therapy have full direct access and are the primary point of contact for musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment. If you are having a pain or impaired function come get it evaluated so we can start treatment quickly and prevent further progression of injury.

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