Getting injured while training for your next triathlon and then being in pain is miserable.

I have been through it as an athlete and have guided many athletes back to training as a physio.

Many athletes don't understand their pain and it's role.

So here are 3 analogies that can help:

Pain often accompanies an endurance injury.

Here are some things to know about pain as a triathlete:

• It's a warning signal (more often than not)

• It can clue us in to what's going on

• It might derail your training but a little is alright

• Many factors influence it

• You won't always have it

Stories or analogies may help you understand why you have pain, how much is too much and why the process is taking so long.

The Fire Alarm - a mismatch in signals

Pain is most often a warning signal that there is a potential for tissue damage. This means it's not always correct.

Similar to the way a fire alarm works.

We want the alarm functioning so that if the house is on fire (major injury) it lets us know.

We don't want it so sensitive that it goes off when lighting a candle (walking around).

Often our first goal with rehab is to decrease the sensitivity of the system so that the alarm stops going off early.

You might be experiencing a sensitive fire alarm right now.

But what about pain while training?

The Traffic Light - a guide for pain while training

When managing injuries a little bit of pain is ok. We can use a traffic light to understand acceptable levels of pain/discomfort while exercising and training.

Thinking in terms of a 0-10 pain scale (how would you rate your pain?)

0-3 = green light

4-5 = yellow light

6-10 = red light

Green light to me says you are good to go, we are not worried about a little bit of discomfort.

Yellow light to me says take note. A big question for you is are you sore afterwards and for how long?

Red light to me means to decrease activity, you might not be making it worse, but not helping either.

Bottom line a little pain is ok. 

And now for the journey as a whole.

The Toblerone Bar - how rehab usually progresses

Rehab can be a bit like a Toblerone chocolate bar.

The candy bar with the peaks and valleys

There will be ups and downs along the way.

Our goal is to keep the bar tipped up. We hope for a general upwards trend, but there might be ups and downs along the way. Prepare for the lows along the way by having a set-back plan in place.

Know what things will help get your rehab and training back on track

These are just a few of the many stories I use in rehab.

What’s the best pain analogy you have heard?