Introduction

Overview of Module

Welcome to module one. We are excited to get you started on this learning process.

This first module is about pain:

• What it means
• How it affects exercise, training, and lifting
• What are the appropriate roles of the trainer, coach, clinician, MD, chiropractor, physical therapist
• Why some things may be painful and other things that seem like they should hurt don’t
• When to refer a client out for evaluation by a healthcare professional
• and more

It’s a plain and simple fact that a large percentage of people at the gym have some form of pain they are training with, whether that is shoulder pain, back pain, knee pain, and many other areas.

The reality is people are training at the gym with pain and the more you know about pain, how to modify lifts, and what accessory work makes sense for a person given what they’re complaining of, the better.

This is not a course designed to train you how to treat pain unless it is within your scope of practice.

The best practice would be to advise clients who have pain to get it evaluated.

This course is designed to help you systematically modify workouts in a sensible way based on research and real world experience for the clients you work with. We don’t expect that every little ache and pain every person in the world has they will seek care for (although legally, that is a best practice) and many things resolve when you modify appropriately, alter volume of exercise, and add in intelligent accessory work. Clients frequently ask their trainers and coaches for advice when something hurts, so the more we know about these issues, the better.

With all that said, let’s get into it!