sickened-things
wish it was easier to tell the difference between ‘pain that will get better if you use the body part’ and ‘pain that will get worse if you use the body part’ and ‘pain that is indifferent to you using the body part’ tbqh
It’s going to vary a lot from person to person, but as a rule of thumb:
- If it feels tight/locked up/achy it needs to move, but be aware that it almost certainly needs to move slowly and gently until the pain begins to ease
- If it feels sharp/hot/tender and/or gets worse with pressure/weight, it needs to rest. Massage, heat, or ice may help.
- If you move the body part and feel grinding/clicking that’s new or worse than usual it needs to rest or possibly to get a brace on it
- Electrical pain or pain that comes with numbness and tingling is probably nerve pain, and nerve pain cares not what you do with your body but it might care what position it’s in, so it’s less about using the body part and more about how you’re using the body part.
- You can have multiple things going on which get worse or better with different things, and the best thing to do here is vary what you’re doing. Lying in bed like a slug is what you’re going to want to do. But you’ll feel better if you get up and move around for just a few minutes before going back to resting.
