No pain no gain

I read an article about NHL players taking medication, pain medication, to play through the pain. And it was quite a disturbing article. It said that from a young age, hockey players have been taught to play through pain and push themselves to the limit.

Players block shots, take hits, fight for teammates and do whatever it takes to win. If you can’t rise to the occasion when it counts, you’ll likely be replaced with someone who will.

And it kind of really got my wheels turning a little bit, that these guys are playing through extreme pain. We're not talking a strain sprain, we're talking guys taking medication to play, probably in a situation where you or I would be resting. It worries me that we're still in a culture where we live within the ‘no pain, no gain’ theory. In fact, many players routinely rely on painkillers just to deal with the aches and pains of professional hockey.

There’s a wide selection of painkillers out there, but one that is commonly used in the NHL is Toradol. It’s an anti-inflammatory that numbs the body, blocking the hormones that cause inflammation and pain. It starts working almost instantly and can last for hours. When taken properly, Toradol is a safe and effective drug. However, problems can arise with overuse.

Many of these players now face the prospect of long-term health issues for the rest of their lives, and doctors believe that players who misuse the drug are putting themselves at serious risk of long-term side effects that could include internal bleeding, stomach, liver and kidney complications and more.

So first off, pain is a warning system. It's a signal from our brain to our bodies that we’re potentially going to do something harmful. It doesn't mean something harmful has happened, but it's more a little warning signal.

Further, we continue to push that boundary, like they do in high level sports players, and simply encourage our youth, our kids and our family members to always just medicate, take an Advil, you'll be fine. Just push through it.

We're not respecting the pain, we're not respecting the signal.

Now, pain is something we can work with. We can work around, we can change and adapt based on our pain, but we shouldn't be pushing ourselves to the limits of our body every single time we get on the ice.

We shouldn't need to take medication every time we have to do something we love. And even though most professional hockey players and recreational hockey players and Sunday league beer players love their hockey, you shouldn't be doing it, if it hurts.

In fact we shouldn't be doing anything if it really hurts us. And if it is, you need to find somebody who can help you work through the pain and find a better way to move your body so it doesn't hurt so much.

⁣Ref: Pushing through the pain.

Nicola Robertson

Registered Physiotherapist