There's no shortage of quips that speak to the military attitude of pushing on through physical discomfort in the name of training.
But while it’s true that soldiers need a certain amount of grit to cope with the rigours of the job, there are times when the mind over matter approach may do more harm than good. After all, the human body’s pain response mechanism has been finely tuned over millennia to prevent injury. That twinge you feel while running?
It could be a warning signal that something serious is amiss. Or it could just be your brain trying to tell you to conserve energy for more important stuff – like running away from predators.
So how do you know when it’s okay to griz it out and when you need to ease off?
According to exercise rehabilitation instructor Sgt Ross Read (RAPTC), there’s no straightforward answer because discomfort and fatigue are a normal part of phys.
“If you're training right and working hard then you’ll be in some degree of pain,” says the 32-year-old, who is based at 3 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment in Minley. “If you can continue doing what you’re doing and all that’s happening is you’re getting more tired, and the pain goes away when you stop, then you’re probably okay.
“But if the fatigue causes you to change form, that’s a sign you should modify your load. And if the change in form gives rise to a new, sharper sensation of pain, that’s less likely to be your muscles getting weary and more likely a biomechanical issue.
“Part of a PTI’s role is teaching people how to safely push their limits so that over time the sensation of discomfort is reduced.”
In his role working with phase two trainees and permanent staff, Sgt Read says he commonly sees the likes of shin splints, lateral knee pain, ankle sprains and pulled hamstrings, as well as shoulder injuries. But helping someone through the rehab process is made more complicated by the fact that perceptions of pain vary hugely between individuals.
“If you ask people to rate their pain, one person’s three out of ten might be someone else’s nine out of ten,” he continues.
“I’ve seen a soldier with a full achilles rupture, who retained complete composure and reported a moderate amount of pain, but I’ve also seen the same injury have someone screaming in agony and being unable to get a sentence out.
“Personality, experience, pain history and psychology all come into it.”
What’s more, the senior NCO explains, an individual’s experience of pain is heavily influenced by factors like sleep, stress and anything else going on in their lives.
“I might cut my finger and think nothing of it but if I was a guitar player who had a concert tomorrow I would probably perceive it as much more painful,” he continues. “I find the speaker metaphor useful.
If you think of the pain as the source of the sound – like the stereo or your MP3 player – and the brain as the speaker, along the way there are various amplifiers.
“These could be problems at home or at work, or what impact you think the injury could have on you and your future.
“Let’s say a soldier is deployed on a foreign exercise. They might be apprehensive about the upcoming serials, they are away from family, they’ll be working harder and likely aren’t getting as much sleep as usual.
“All of this could mean their cup is already pretty full. Now imagine they go for a run to blow off steam but then they remember that ankle injury from a couple of years ago.
“They begin to think ‘this doesn’t feel quite right’ and by the end of the run have talked themselves into believing they’ve reinjured it when they might not have actually done so. “The brain is incredibly complicated.”
Psychologically, Sgt Read also points out, the impact of injury on military personnel can be heightened because their careers – and potentially a large part of their personal identity – hinge on physical performance. And with the majority of medical discharges occurring due to musculoskeletal injuries, worry around their professional futures is not unfounded.
Maj Johannes Kuhn (RLC) knows first-hand just how devastating long-term injury can be. Having been involved in a car accident in 2013, the officer suffered persistent back problems, ultimately undergoing major surgery to fuse two vertebrae in 2021. Reflecting on the years spent in pain he says: “You wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It’s physically crippling but also emotionally – it really affected my mental health.
“I couldn’t move, couldn’t drive, couldn’t pick up my kids. It touches everything that is important – your longevity, your mental health, how you feel about yourself, how you physically look.
“I always enjoyed running and competing in athletics – my fitness was a really big part of my identity.
“You’re fearful of hurting yourself again and you worry about your career.
“For me it was the most genuinely enormous challenge of my life to get back from this injury.”
As part of his return to full fitness following the operation, Maj Kuhn set himself a series of challenges, including the London Marathon, an ultramarathon and swimming the English Channel. And this year he will tick off another bucket list goal when he leads a team from Army Training Regiment Pirbright to Everest base camp.
“These activities were getting back to something I haven’t been able to do for many, many years,” he adds. “I needed to test my steel and return to that aspirational fitness we all aim for as soldiers.
“I had some really low points, but I knew I had to keep on keeping on.”
It’s clear that having goals and pushing physical limits can be an important part of the recovery process. But that same tenacity can also see troops risking serious harm in the name of a personal or fundraising quest.
Just ask former Coldstream Guardsman, Farren Morgan, who recently took it upon himself to tab from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just 25 days, while carrying a 35lb pack. Despite having completed various arduous courses during his nine years in the army, the ex-NCO said the 1,000-mile slog quickly became a battle between mind and body. He recalls: “I’ve always been one of those guys who pushes through the pain but until now I’d never felt the kind of agony where my brain was like ‘you need to stop or you’re going to injure yourself badly’.
“My ankles were swollen, I was feeling sharp pain in my shins, my hips and back were hurting – that's when I knew things were going south.
“At night I couldn’t sleep because everything was throbbing – I’ve never known anything like it.
“I could easily have quit, but I decided the only way I was going to stop was if I was hospitalised.
“The human body is a phenomenal machine if you know how to manage it. I worked out early on that I needed to break each day into stints, stopping to ice, compress and massage my limbs when needed.
“Eventually I reached a point where I was in perfect unison with my body and mind. Adapt and overcome.”
Morgan, an ex-all-arms PTI who now runs his own physical training business, says that despite six months of arduous prep ahead of the event, he could easily have done lasting damage to his joints, ligaments or bones.
“I don’t know if I’ll have any permanent issues,” he admits. “I was back in the gym after three days, however stress fractures or long-term hip and back problems are absolutely a risk when doing something like this, especially if you don’t have a very good standard of fitness to begin with.”
So, don’t try this at home, as the saying goes. One thing is certain though – knowing when to dig deep and when to draw the line is vital. Learning to distinguish healthy discomfort from harmful strain can mean the difference between personal growth and long-term injury.
And with Help for Heroes estimating that some 78 per cent of veterans struggle with chronic pain, the repercussions of not listening to your body could potentially last a lifetime. Soldiering is tough, however true strength doesn’t just lie in grit and endurance, but in staying in tune with yourself and ensuring you remain fit to fight another day.
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