2964: Pain vs. Soreness During and After Working Out and Muscle Scraping

[00:00:00] It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily and I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, happy Friday and welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and more. You send in the questions and I answer them for you. Oh, and if you do send in a question and you're in the U.S., we'll mail you a copy of our hardcover workbook. If you're outside of the U.S., we'll email you a PDF version.

[00:00:28] Now, what's the easiest way to send in a question? Just email it to health at oldpodcast.com Now, once a month, usually during the first Q&A episode of the month, I mention a bit about my background and credentials so you can better understand where my perspectives come from. Given this is the first Q&A of the month, it's time. Now, I've always been obsessed with Batman, but I wasn't always interested in the things I talk about on this podcast. Nutrition, exercise, health, and wellness.

[00:00:57] But being diagnosed with a chronic disease at the age of 19 definitely changed my life's purpose. It was at that time I decided to focus my attention on helping others so that no one else had to experience a chronic disease diagnosis like I did. In order to do that, I wanted to be sure I had some credibility. This is not meant to be a humble brag, but instead gain your trust. I received both my master's and doctoral degrees in public health.

[00:01:22] And to make sure I covered all of my bases, I also became a registered dietitian nutritionist, a certified health education specialist, and a certified exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. I've been teaching in higher education for a long time now, and I'm currently faculty within the California State University system. I published peer-reviewed studies. I presented at national and international conferences.

[00:01:46] And I've been interviewed by over 70 different media outlets for my expertise on basically all the things I talk about on this podcast. So, all of this to say that when I provide my commentary after each episode, and I answer the questions you send in, I hope you feel as though it's coming from a place of truth. My only intention is to help you feel your best. All right, and with that, let's finally get to today's question as we optimize your life.

[00:02:16] Today's question came via email. Kurt writes, Hi, Dr. Neil. Love your podcast, and I listen to it every day. I have a question about pain and soreness, specifically relating to weight training. I work out mostly with free weights. I'm 64 years old, and I do want to build some muscle and have a strong body. I know that if I experience pain, especially a sharp pain while weight training, that I back off a bit so as to not get injured.

[00:02:41] I also think that some soreness the next day is probably okay, since that probably means I work my muscles enough for muscle gain. Am I thinking correctly about pain and soreness? Also, is there any research that shows if muscle scraping helps with stiffness and soreness the day after weight training? Thanks for your help. Thank you so much for taking the time to send in your question, Kurt, and for being a regular listener. I appreciate you. Now, I'm thrilled you enjoy weight training.

[00:03:11] In fact, as we get older, our bodies, unfortunately, like to break down muscle. Now, this breakdown of muscle really ramps up when we reach our 40s. And again, sadly, it's just a natural part of aging. But after our 40s, believe it or not, we could lose up to 8% of our muscle mass every 10 years after that. Yikes. So, by weight training, Kurt, you're slowing down that process, which is a great thing.

[00:03:37] Now, you asked about pain you sometimes experience when you're lifting weights. You were absolutely right when you said that if you're experiencing a sharp pain, the best thing to do is back off to prevent injury. Sharp pain means it's time to stop whatever exercise you're doing right away. Now, this can include sharp pain in the actual muscles being used or sharp pain anywhere else, like sharp pains in the chest, for example. As Matt Fraser once said, quote,

[00:04:07] Pain is dangerous. Discomfort is where you get better. End quote. So, if there is pain in the muscles being worked out, it could mean a couple of things. It may mean you need to switch to a different weight, like maybe the weight you're using is too heavy. Or it could mean that form is the issue. Maybe the way the exercise is being performed could be performed a bit more strictly. It could also mean that your body just may not like the exercise you're doing. I'll give you an example.

[00:04:37] My buddy and I wanted to try out an exercise called dumbbell pullovers. We heard it was a great exercise for strengthening the chest, back, and triceps all at once. So, to perform a dumbbell pullover, you lay on your back on a flat bench. Then, holding one dumbbell with both hands, you start by extending your arms and holding the dumbbell directly over your chest.

[00:05:01] Then, while holding the dumbbell with both hands and keeping your arms straight, you begin to lower it over and past your head so that your arms reach behind you. Without letting the dumbbell touch the ground and still keeping your arms straight, you then lift the dumbbell back to the starting position over your chest. Well, I tried this move with a really light weight. I started to move the weight over my head.

[00:05:27] And as soon as the weight passed my forehead, I started to feel really uncomfortable. It was like I couldn't breathe. The movement didn't feel right at all. My form was good. But my body was saying, stop this right now. The exercise just felt wrong, even though I was performing it correctly. So, my buddy and I scrapped it and said, there are other ways to build up our chest, triceps, and back muscles. And we moved on.

[00:05:54] So, the other thing is, if you have the means and are able, see if you can hire a certified personal trainer to help make sure that the exercises are being performed perfectly and with the right weights. Also, if you have access to weight machines, you could try using them for those exercises that caused muscle pain. This is because machines help keep our form really strict and we can easily increase or decrease the weight as needed.

[00:06:19] If you no longer experience pain when using the machines, it may mean that form was the actual issue. Now, Kurt, you also asked about muscle scraping and whether it's helpful to relieve stiffness or soreness after weight training. Now, in case we're not familiar, muscle scraping may also be called the Graston technique or instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, gua sha, or simply soft tissue therapy.

[00:06:46] Whatever it's called, basically the process involves using a smooth-edged instrument to repeatedly scrape the skin in one direction under pressure. Think of it like a massage, but using a smooth-edged instrument instead of the hands. The idea behind muscle scraping is to decrease pain and improve the body and muscles range of motion and function. The theory is that muscle scraping will reduce pain by separating scar tissue and producing

[00:07:13] heat, which increases blood flow to the areas affected by pain. Now, does this actually happen in reality? A systematic review found that muscle scraping didn't really help reduce pain and soreness in most people. There was some weak evidence that muscle scraping can be helpful for increasing range of motion in the low back and legs. But this increased range of motion only lasted for a short period of time.

[00:07:40] So the bottom line with muscle scraping is that if it's not causing harm and it seems to help, then go for it. But we do need to keep in mind that there are some that may want to avoid muscle scraping, like those that have diabetes or issues with circulation, those on blood thinners, or are pregnant or may be pregnant. Again, these are all individuals that would want to avoid muscle scraping.

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[00:09:35] Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash OHD. Go to shopify.com slash OHD. Shopify.com slash OHD. Thank you again so much for taking the time to send in your question, Kurt, and for being a regular listener. Now, if you want to send in a question to be answered right here on the show and get a

[00:10:03] copy of our workbook, you can email your question to health at OLDpodcast.com. Or if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, come by OLDpodcast.com slash ask. Right on that page, you can record your audio questions straight from your computer's microphone. It's really easy, and if you mess up, you can play back your message and do retakes before officially sending it in. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and call in your question.

[00:10:31] The number is 1-61-ILOVE-OHD. That's 1-614-568-3643. Thank you so much for doing that. Answering your questions is my favorite part of the show. But for now, that'll do it for another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening every day and all the way through. I hope you have a great start to your weekend. And of course, I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.