10 Minutes of Fitness: How do you train clients that are reporting pain?

In this week’s 10 Minutes of Fitness James FitzGerald tackled a complex but, all to common question “How do you train clients through pain?”

(We should start with a disclaimer, coaches are not physicians. There is a certain scope of practice that coaches are limited to and should be aware of when talking to clients about pain.)

First, assess:

First, ask the client “does this pain you feel lead to a decrease in your function?”  If the answer is yes then a medical route should be pursued. But, if the pain does not decrease the client’s function than it is up to the coach to identify the cause of the pain and work around it.

Second, identify:

Identify where the client’s pain is coming from and the cause to the best of your ability. When identifying the cause of pain keep two things in mind. It might just be a small pain from the body adapting and getting fitter. Second, it could be the neural pathways that are struggling with the movement.

Third, “When in doubt, refer out”:

As a coach, it is important to understand your scope of practice. There will be times when your client’s pain is out of your scope and will need to be treated by a professional. Our flagship course the OPEX Coaching Certificate Program (CCP) goes in depth into the scope of practice and provides coaches with a professional framework.