Exercise Traffic Light
Traffic lights:
The majority of Americans will experience a significant episode of low back pain by the time they are in their early 40’s. Regardless of location, most cases of musculoskeletal pain respond favorably when movement-based therapy is part of the management plan. This brings up the occasional question: how do we know when to push through pain and when should we stop. The traffic light idea seems to help patients know when to go, when to slow and when to stop.
What does traffic have to do with my pain? Well, nothing; but the traffic light is a nice analogy to work from. When you start performing an exercise and have a slight increase in existing pain, or induces slight pain, that doesn’t mean you're causing harm. Proceed with caution; but don’t stop (this is our yellow light situation). If that discomfort continues but gets no worse or doesn’t remain more painful after stopping, we encourage our patients to continue working with that exercise cautiously. Again think yellow traffic light. An exercise becomes a red light if the pain gradually increases or if the increased pain remains for longer than two hours after completing.
Obviously, the best scenario is when the pain reduces or completely resolves while performing or after completing the exercise. This is a green light, YAY! Keep going, this tells us specifically that this exercise is a therapeutic movement pattern and will continue to be helpful in the future. So, remember when doing your exercises, green lights continue to relieve pain and get easier the more your do. Yellow lights may give you mild pain but DO NOT get worse as you continue, and red lights become gradually more painful, telling you to stop.
Hopefully this has been helpful in knowing when to move forward and when you should hold off and talk with your healthcare provider. If you ever find yourself unsure of when to move forward, reach out to us; we’d love to help you.
McKenzie, R., May, Stephen. (2003). The Lumbar Spine Mechanical and Diagnosis Therapy. (2nd Edition)
Spinal Publications New Zealand Ltd.
