It’s Just Pain
I was back in the hospital last night. Barb talked me into going to the emergency room just to make sure..
As you probably already know I am recovering from a pretty severe automobile accident where someone whacked into the side of me at full speed and propelled me into the line of attack of a cement light pole.I was blessed to get out of it with a few broken ribs, a broken wrist and some really colorful hematoma, but alive and recovering.
Anyways, in the last three days the hematoma around my lower abdomen had been swelling in a very hard fashion, along with some pain that felt like the pain like when muscles are cramping. so, I just figured it’s part of the healing process and will be fine, but Barbara brought up the very valid point that the whole reason I had been ambulanced from the first emergency room to a Trauma Center was for observation of potential internal injuries in my lower abdomen, so I really should get it checked.
As is often the case, she was the voice of a reason that made me decide I should head back into the emergency room last night and get it all checked out. The great news is that it is indeed just a hematoma and the hard swollen areas are just part of that, like bruises healing from the inside. She gave me some instructions on what to do with warm compresses and such to try to minimize the permanence of these and said if they fell to resolve themselves and the thought of a big hard lump in my gut bothers me I can always go back to have them removed. 🙂 I will use the power of positive thinking and do everything within my power to finish healing on my own.
well, as Barb and I were discussing the whole experience after getting back from the ER – and by the way the experience was as great as visiting an ER can be… I am very impressed and grateful for the team at St Joe’s North that took such great care of me and made me fully understand where I was in recovery and what’s important next.
But, as Barb and I were discussing, she said how relief she felt, and that she appreciated me taking her advice to go get checked out.
I said “ I am relieved too. It’s good to learn that it’s only pain.”
And then, of course, I also said “ ooh, that will make for some great content. There is an important lesson in what I just said. it’s good to know when it’s just pain, or when it’s something we should be more concerned about.”
Pain can mean something positive or something negative.
When it’s “ just pain”, it can be something at worst to be tolerated and at best to be leveraged. We will discuss both of these in greater detail.
Then, of course, there is the pain that needs to be heeded. In other words, when pain is an indicator or warning that something needs medical attention, or that we should stop doing something that is damaging our health, we should listen to that.
But sometimes, pain is just pain and, as in the case of the pain of my healing ribs and healing wrist and healing abdomen, just an inconvenience that must be tolerated while healing happens…
And, sometimes, pain is a gift to be leveraged. Perhaps we have pain meant to teach us something. or, often, there is a healthy pain associated with training, mental and physical, which can be leveraged to make us better.
This is true of training in the martial arts…
there will be the physical pain of muscle soreness as your body becomes better, stronger and faster than it’s ever been before.
There will be challenges that get you out of your comfort zone, mentally developing you to new levels we have never experienced before.
Sometimes there will even be some hematoma inherent in the training process; but I promise none of these will be nearly as severe as those inflicted by a seatbelt In a serious auto accident.
hmm, just realized this is good pain too. I may have some breaks, bumps and bruises, but the outcome would be way worse had the seat belt not done its job.
As we say, everything happens for a reason and serves us well.
To make sure that I have made my point though, the real purpose of this lesson is to remind us that pain is good in one of two ways:
- the one in which it is helping us become better, either physically or mentally, and in which we should embrace and value that pain as a necessary part of creating a stronger you,
- the one in which it is warning us that there is something we need to do, or stop doing, to protect us from harm.
This is an important distinction even in training. I always tell my students to be cognizant of the difference and train through the prior but not do anything that creates the latter. i e, and especially important for adult students who all come to the table with the results of previous injuries Etc, know the difference between good pain and bad pain and react accordingly.
It’s an important distinct
ion in every area of our lives as well; though here sometimes a little less easy to identify.
With age and experience of course, if you’ve been paying attention, it gets easier.
In all of our relationships and other associations, for example, the question to ask is whether this is pain that’s making me better or pain that is keeping me from the best and highest version of myself.
It’s a valuable question to ask in many areas of life.
Either way, it’s just pain, but the answer, and what you do about it, is critically important.
Prepare To Live; Empower To Lead!
Grand Master Stephen J. Del Castillo
Founding Master Instructor, Krav Maga Martial Arts
TampaKravMaga.com StephenDelCastillo.com
PS Speaking of pain, the good kind, team KMMA is back in action Thursday January 2nd and has some amazing welcome back workouts ready for you Thursday and Friday! you will have fun, get a great workout and learn something new!
Graduation is Saturday! I hope to see you there too!
not a student yet?
call 813-948-4844. The new year is a great time to start!