We have published numerous articles before about CHRONIC PAIN and what strategies and methods you can use to prevent it and rehabilitate an injury. One of the more interesting concepts we discuss is the difference between "good pain" and "bad pain". Many people suffering from chronic pain are looking for a remedy or a solution to remove the pain and suffering. But the big problem with this is, that removing the pain is rarely addressing the real problem, WHY the pain was there in the first place. We have been taught to see pain as a real inconvenience and that there must be some kind of pill, tablet or medical intervention to make it go away. Often when there is pain there is significant stiffness and tight muscles that will require some "good pain" via massage, stretching and exercise to restore the body back to balance. Without this "good pain" being implemented nothing will change. And unfortunately this is the cycle most people are stuck in as they are just seeing to get rid of symptoms and not address the true cause of the problem. In this article I am going to help you see how to approach your problem in a different way.

When it comes to talking about back pain, and more specifically what causes it and what are the best exercise strategies to treat it there is nobody better than Dr Stuart McGill. His books and endless research into this chronic condition are referred to by experts in all fields from all over the world and rated as best practice for helping people find long term solutions to their pain. I first read his books "Low Back Disorders" and "Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance" back in 2007 and was blown away by his approach and this changed the way I trained clients and my entire training philosophy. In 2016 I read his latest book "Back Pain Mechanic" and this year completed a training course on how to implement this with clients. Even though I was using most of his methods and philosophies in our back pain rehabilitation programs, it is not until you spend time hands on with this that you "really learn" some of the finer things and gain a greater understanding of the reason behind his methods. This article I am going to share with you what I found to be some of the best lessons I learned from him.

If there is one thing that really does my head in, it is seeing people using fitness methods to solve what is really a health problem. Even worse is when they are advised to do this by a health professional or trainer. This is where someone uses cycling, running, swimming and various other fitness activities to rehabilitate the body from injury or improve overall health from disease or illness. Injury, illness, disease, even weight loss are all health problems needing a solution that addresses the cause of the problem and a plan that provides the body with optimal function and health to handle fitness endeavours. We must understand that health and fitness are not the same thing, and that you can never become fit until you become healthy first. In this article, I am going to explore several common approaches to injury and illness that people are using or being advised to do that are doomed for failure right from the start, and in some cases even contribute to making their condition worse or creating new problems bigger than the original one!