Unfortunately, medical care has become prohibitively expensive for many people and even unavailable for many people. In today's society a person can only be as sick as their insurance lets them be. The others are left to their own devices.

This is why I focus on avoiding injuries instead of repairing injuries. The universal rule of avoiding overuse injuries is to stop the activity that caused the pain once mild pain starts. This may not be possible in the workplace, but it is certainly possible in recreational activities. After the pain subsides a person can generally cautiously resume the exercise at a lower intensity level and increase the exercise at a slow rate.

If a person feels something snap and it comes with localized or severe pain, it's time to see a doctor. However, if it's a lower intensity pain the best course of action is rest. If it's in a gray area and they will see a doctor, they should rest until seeing the doctor.

I've been through this cycle four times this year with knee pain in both knees, foot tiredness, lower back muscle pain and a general malaise brought on by too much walking. Each time I backed off while the pain was mild and approached the old level of exercise slowly. I anticipate something else will arise as I increase the miles.

Pain is a part of exercising beyond old habit patterns, but it should not be severe pain or even moderate pain. Too many doctors want to do something to relieve pain when the right answer is to do nothing until the pain subsides.This doesn't apply to people who push through pain until they create a severe problem.

I oppose the concept of "No pain, no gain" as this concept only applies to people trying for short term success at the cost of chronic injuries. Instead, I exercise below the threshold of pain and extreme tiredness, and as time passes, this threshold increases. My philosophy will not win gold medals, but it will get a person in the top 10% of any activity. It may take an extra year, but so what?