Pain Guidelines During Exercise and Rehab

For people experiencing pain, their initial response is often to avoid activity and seek rest. In
many cases, this is entirely appropriate. However, for certain injuries and types of pain, exercise
rehabilitation is an important part of treatment and recovery. In some cases, prolonged periods
of rest can even be detrimental.

If you are injured or experiencing pain and are unsure if it is safe to exercise, always check with
your doctor and/or physiotherapist first.

Once you have been cleared to exercise, it is important to monitor your pain both DURING and
AFTER exercise to ensure your rehabilitation program is on track. We have developed the
attached pain guidelines to be used as a rule of thumb to help you with this process.

These pain guidelines are designed to be used only as prescribed by our Physiotherapists. If
you have not seen one of our Physiotherapists we do not recommend using these guidelines,
only do so once you have consulted your healthcare provider to ensure they are
appropriate for you.