Although the cause and type of joint pain will differ from person to person, the most common is Osteoarthritis; a gradual breakdown of cartilage affecting men before 45 and women after 55 years of age. 

Joint pain is often the result of the physical demand on the body being exceeded and shows up in two ways.The first is a mild pain resulting from a localized increase in circulation, a normal occurrence which subsides after 15 minutes. The second is an acute pain that progressively worsens or shows up as a nagging joint pain that either starts 2 hours after ending your training session or not until the next day.

Both the prolonged and delayed onset type of pain indicates that a local inflammatory process has started at the joint. The prolonged joint pain is due to the increased circulation resulting from the activity while the delayed onset occurs during the resting phase after the activity has ended. This is where the “inner warmth” created by the circulation slowly decreases, leading to the pain.

Remaining active is important but when that activity results in reoccurring symptoms of joint pain, adjustments have to be made. Stay positive, find solutions and focus on what you can do. Know your limit, pace yourself and adjust your training sessions to fit your pain threshold level. Changing things up to include training methods that are easier on the joints, such as swimming, walking and biking can also make a training program more enjoyable again.

Tilman von der Linde, RMT.

Muscles in Motion – Vancouver