Understanding Pain: The Science of Your Recovery
Pain isn't always damage. Learning how your body uses pain signals during rehab is one of the most empowering things you can do for your recovery.
Why we feel pain
Pain is your nervous system's protective alarm — not a direct readout of tissue damage. Modern pain science shows that pain is produced by the brain after it weighs signals from the body, your beliefs, stress, sleep, and previous experiences. Two people with the same injury can feel very different levels of pain.
Good pain vs bad pain
- Dull, muscular, symmetrical
- Eases within 24 hours
- Stays at or below a 4/10
- Improves with movement
- Sharp, pinching, or electric
- Lingers more than 24 hours
- Climbs above a 6/10
- Triggers swelling or instability
Using pain as a guide
A simple rule of thumb during rehab: stay within a 0–4/10 pain range during exercise, and check in 24 hours later. If pain returned to baseline, the load was appropriate. If it stayed elevated, scale back the next session by 20–30%. This "traffic light" approach trains your nervous system to trust movement again.
When to seek help
Talk to a physiotherapist or doctor if you experience numbness, weakness, unexplained swelling, pain that wakes you at night, or pain that hasn't improved after 4–6 weeks of consistent, gentle progression.