Cardiovascular Intervals for Pain Relief

"My back’s been pretty achey today, and I haven’t been able to walk or exercise much.”

Understood, let’s get that heart rate up and get you grooving. Our body’s natural analgesic response can be pretty potent, and using some aerobic intervals in the midst of a well-rounded rehab program can go a long way to managing those aches and pains.

Bike/Ski/Row Intervals:

3-5 minutes easy pace

Work/Rest: 1 minute on, 1 minute off; 5-10 rounds as fatigue allows. Aim for 6-8/10 effort with consistent pacing throughout, minimal drop off.

Now, because aerobic capacity can really impact someone’s ability to sustain this workload, I emphasize the individualized feeling of RPE (rate of perceived exertion). A good rule of thumb is that you can’t sing, but you can talk a bit. 

To help provide some more rest time, I’ll often have a patient dismount the machine and perform some gentle mobility, like below:

6 rounds

Max cals on the bike in 1 minute

10-15 banded cat-cows on all fours

That break of the banded cat-cows helps keep them off long enough to recover, but not too long that they start to lose the desired aerobic stimulus.

Seeing some changes but still want a more individualized approach to your rehab? Looking for physical therapists in Long Beach who understand what it takes to make fitness a daily part of your life? If you want to learn how to take control with some expert guidance and treatments to optimize your performance and longevity, then that’s exactly what we provide at Zenith Performance Physical Therapy. Call or text us at 562-502-1767 to schedule a free phone consultation and come in for an evaluation! 

Thomas Bilodeau, PT DPT, USAW-L1

Zenith Performance Physical Therapy 

ICE Certified Specialist: Orthopedics, Fitness Athlete, Older Adult