How to Train Through Injury Without Making It Worse
By Dr Harry Shirley (Osteopath), in collaboration with Club Forma · Richmond, Melbourne
There's a moment I see often in the clinic. Someone comes in frustrated, not because they're in pain but because they've been told to stop. Stop training, stop moving, rest until it settles. And they're sitting across from me wondering why that hasn't worked after three weeks.
Training through injury isn't reckless. Done right, it's often the smartest thing you can do.
Why "Just Rest" Usually Backfires
Rest has its place. Acute injuries, fresh tissue damage, significant swelling, post-surgical recovery, absolutely need it. But for most musculoskeletal injuries I see, total rest is rarely the answer.
When you stop moving, the tissues around the injury stiffen. Strength drops faster than most people expect. The nervous system starts to associate that area of the body with threat, making it more sensitised over time, not less.
The goal isn't to avoid loading the injury. It's to find the right load.
Training Through Injury: What That Actually Means
Training through injury doesn't mean ignoring pain or pushing through every session at full intensity. It means being strategic about what you keep, what you modify and what you temporarily set aside.
If you've got a shoulder issue, your legs and core don't need to suffer. If your lower back is flaring, there are usually lower limb patterns and pressing variations that are completely fine. The key is finding the movements that don't provoke symptoms and building around those rather than defaulting to nothing.
I work with a lot of people who've been told to rest, come back in two weeks and repeat. By the time they get to me, they've lost fitness, lost confidence in their body and the original problem hasn't really shifted.
Where Programming Changes Everything
This is where the collaboration with Club Forma genuinely changes outcomes. Personalised programming means the training adapts to where you're at right now, not where you were six months ago.
When I'm working with someone through an injury, I want to know exactly what they're doing in the gym. The volume, the patterns, the loading. That information shapes how I treat and what I recommend between sessions.
Training and treatment aren't separate things. They feed each other. When the programming is built around the rehab and the rehab is built around keeping you active, recovery is faster and more complete.
Knowing When to Pull Back
There's a difference between discomfort and damage. Some sensation during training is normal and expected, especially in early rehab. Sharp, worsening or lingering pain after a session is a signal worth paying attention to.
A simple rule I give patients: if your pain during exercise sits below a 4 out of 10, stays there and settles within 24 hours, you're generally in a safe range. If it's spiking above that, or you're waking up worse the next day, the load needs adjusting.
That's not a reason to stop. It's information. Use it.
If you're navigating an injury and trying to figure out how to keep training, come and see me. I'm based in Richmond and I work closely with the team at Club Forma to make sure your programming is working with your body, not against it. Book online and we'll work out a plan that keeps you moving.
