Short guide
Your flare-up plan
Most people recovering from back, neck or joint pain have days when it flares. Most flares settle on their own. Having a plan ready means you don't have to make decisions while it hurts.
On the day
- Keep moving gently and carry on with as much of your day as you can. Long spells resting, or in bed, tend to make it stiffer.
- Cut your exercises down rather than stopping: the easiest versions, fewer sets. In Kinehub, the Gentle session does this for you.
- For stiffness or spasm, a heat pack or hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. For pain and swelling, an ice pack or bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel.
- If you use painkillers, ask a pharmacist which suits you.
- Spread things out: several short spells of activity rather than one long one.
Write your plan now, while you feel fine
Kinehub's journal is a good place to keep it, and your pain log shows whether a flare is settling.
- What usually helps you: a position, a walk, heat, a particular exercise.
- What to drop for a few days, and what to keep.
- Who you'll contact if it isn't settling: your GP, an NHS physio service, or your physio if you have one.
Get help now if
- Call 999 or go to A&E if you have numbness around your genitals or bottom, changes in your bladder or bowels such as difficulty peeing or not being able to control it, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. Don't drive yourself.
- See a GP urgently if the pain came on after a fall or accident, or comes with a fever, feeling unwell, or weight loss you can't explain.
- See a GP if it hasn't improved after a few weeks, keeps coming back, or is worse at night and doesn't ease with rest.
Sources
Turn this into a daily plan
Kinehub builds a short routine around where it hurts, with clear steps for every exercise, and tracks your pain before and after each session. Free to start.
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