Why Pain Flare Ups Are a Normal (and Necessary) Part of Rehab

Okay okay I know you may be thinking… here is another clickbait title that just wants to draw me in only to leave me underwhelmed with the response. Give me a chance to prove you wrong.

At The Movement, we’ve worked with thousands of clients since opening, and despite what you may think, when a client goes through a pain flare-up during their rehab, it can actually end up being the best thing that ever happened to them — and I’m here to tell you why.

Story Time: Meet Jenn

A few weeks ago, I was working with a client of mine who I’m going to refer to as Jenn.

Jenn came to The Movement with low back pain that she developed from lifting in the gym. It was bad — to the point where she was having trouble bending over, getting out of bed, and even playing with her kids. When we first met, she was pretty defeated, as you could imagine.

But, we got started — and to Jenn’s surprise, she was crushing it.

We were moving through the calm it down phase of rehab. Her pain and movement were feeling so much better, and we were well on track to reaching the fun part of rehab: the build it up phase.

Jenn was ecstatic. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Until…

The Setback

One day she was doing her back exercises and her pain flared up — bad.

As you can imagine, Jenn was pretty upset. She kept flashing back to the tough days where it took her 10 minutes just to get out of bed and limp her way downstairs. Rightfully so.

She came into our session that day pretty defeated. On the verge of breaking down, Jenn said:

“I think I need to stop lifting weights. My back just isn’t strong enough anymore.”

She was at a pretty low point — and that's when the transformation began.

Lesson 1: Rehab is Not Linear

I sat Jenn down and explained that she was exactly where she needed to be (you can imagine the initial reaction on her face).

I told her there were two important lessons here that would change the trajectory of her rehab journey.

First, I asked her if there were any times during her career — being the sales leader of her company — where she made mistakes or faced setbacks.

She laughed and immediately started sharing multiple examples of challenges she faced and overcame to get where she is today.

So I asked,

"Do you think this is any different?"

She paused for a second.

I continued to explain: just like your career path, rehab is not linear. There will be ups and downs with progress — and even more so when we get to the "build it up" phase.

We need to challenge your back with harder progressions for it to adapt. Sometimes, this means doing a little too much and flaring up symptoms. But just like you learned lessons from setbacks in your career, we’ll learn and apply lessons in your rehab process moving forward.

I could see her frustration start to settle. She was starting to understand.

Lesson 2: Flare Ups Are Information

This led us to the second important lesson.

I explained to Jenn that although pain sucks (and nobody wants it), pain gives us valuable information about where we are at.

Before I could even finish my thought, Jenn jumped in:

"So it’s like when I get my sales reports back from my team. When certain numbers are off, I can see where we’re doing well and where we have some opportunities to improve?"

I smiled.

"Yes, Jenn, it’s exactly like that."

When you experience a flare-up, it gives us a snapshot of what might be pushing the system too hard. It's tricky to pinpoint sometimes — just like interpreting sales numbers — but usually, we can find some general patterns and make adjustments.

I could see the wheels turning in Jenn’s mind — and some determination coming back across her face.

Connecting the Dots

Jenn continued:

"Now that we’re talking about it… During my exercise session yesterday, I was feeling good and decided to make a big jump in the weight for my deadlifts. Maybe that contributed to the flare-up?"

I responded excitedly that she was exactly getting the concept — and yes, that very well could have been a factor.

We spent the next 15–20 minutes mapping out the contributing factors to her flare-up and how we could use this information to set up the rest of her rehab process even better.

Jenn left the session still in pain — but excited and motivated to apply everything we discussed.

The Breakthrough

Fast forward a few weeks — Jenn was back on track with her rehab goals.

During a session, she said something to me that was really profound:

"After our conversation, I realized I needed to shift my relationship with the pain I was having.

I used to view pain as an indication that I was doing something wrong — that I was causing more damage.

But what I realize now, as weird as it may sound, is that I need to work with my pain. Try to understand what it’s telling me — and apply those lessons moving forward.

I actually feel way more in control of my situation now than before this happened."

As you can imagine — that was music to my ears.

Jenn went on to apply what she learned, got back in the gym, and continued to lift heavy — stronger than before.

See?

Told you it wasn’t just clickbait.

In Summary: Why Flare Ups Are Actually a Good Thing

Jenn’s story is a common theme we see in rehab.

Although going through a flare-up sucks, it often becomes a major pivot point in a client’s journey.

No, we don’t purposely try to flare clients up (obviously). But we do believe that when it happens, it’s a good thing for people to go through.

Why?

Because life isn’t linear.

Whether it happens during this rehab journey or five years down the road, flare-ups will happen again. Learning the skills to navigate setbacks on your own is empowering — and that’s what we want to teach you.

Need Help Navigating Your Injury?

If you’re currently dealing with an injury and experiencing repetitive flare-ups, we can help you.

Just like Jenn, we’ve helped thousands of people at The Movement successfully work through this process.

If you want to work with our team, click the button below — and let’s get to work.