Hurt vs. Harm: What’s The Difference? (And Why Do You Care?)
Hurt and harm— aren’t they the same thing? Not necessarily. Just because you're feeling hurt (or pain) doesn’t mean you’ve done serious damage to your body. It’s important to understand the difference between feeling pain and actually causing harm, especially if your pain is keeping you from doing something you want to be doing!
Let’s dive in.
Pain Doesn’t Always Mean Damage
We’ve been conditioned to think that all pain equals damage. Remember high school sports? You get hurt, and boom—it’s an injury. Every tweak and twinge was labeled as some kind of “-itis,” right? (I’m looking at you, tendonitis diagnoses!) And all those diagnoses were ostensibly caused by some kind of tissue damage.
But here’s the thing: not all pain is caused by damage, and more importantly, doing things that cause you to feel the pain does not always mean you’re making things worse.
Hurt vs. Harm: Let’s Break It Down
The difference between hurt and harm is crucial. At its core, you can think of it like this:
Hurt is a signal.
Harm is doing actual damage to the tissues in your body.
Pain is your body’s way of warning you something is up–but it doesn’t always mean something has been broken or is getting worse.
Pain Can Just Be A Physical Sensation
Here’s a relatable example: Ever had a sunburn and then taken a shower? You set the water to lukewarm, but the second it hits your skin, it feels like you’ve poured acid all over yourself. Your skin’s sensitivity is cranked up because it’s been overexposed to the sun. But has the water actually harmed you? No. It’s just that your skin can't handle the sensation like it normally would. That pain is just a physical sensation.
Pain Can Be A Signal Of Repetitive Stress
What’s repetitive stress? It can be a runner pounding the pavement day after day. Or it can be sitting at your job–all that sitting in that same chair at that same desk day in and day out is repetitive stress too.
With all repetitive stress, your body eventually hits a point where it says, “Hey, enough is enough!” When that stress exceeds your body’s capacity to handle it, you might start feeling pain—but that doesn’t mean you’ve wrecked anything.
It means your body has become sensitive to the movement or position or action. The pain you're feeling isn’t from tissue damage; it’s your body waving a yellow flag, saying, “Heads up, we’ve had enough of this for now.”
What About Injuries?
Here’s some great news: A lot of so-called injuries don’t require you to panic. Recent research has shown us that a large portion of the population is actually walking around with things like meniscus tears, rotator cuff tears, or even herniated discs—and guess what? They don’t feel a thing. No pain, no loss of function. They probably don’t even know they have these issues because they've never had an MRI or anything–they don’t seek them out because they’re not in pain.
This means that you can have something going on in your body, like a meniscus tear, and still be pain-free or fully functional. So, when it comes to pain, it’s critical to ask: is this hurt actually causing harm? In a lot of cases, the answer is no.
So, Is Your Hurt Harmful?
This is the big question: Is your pain causing you any/more harm, or does it just hurt? The pain you're feeling might not be connected to tissue damage at all, and even if it is, it may be unclear how significant that tissue damage is regarding function and pain. This is something you should definitely discuss with your clinician or doctor. A good one will help you navigate this conversation and explain whether the pain you feel is something to worry about (hint: we’re a good one!)
The good news? Pain doesn’t always equal injury. In our practice, we see this all the time: people come in with pain, but in many cases, it’s not caused by actual harm to their body. This is a game-changer for you because it means you may be able to keep doing the things you love without being afraid of causing damage.
When To See A Clinician
You should always feel free to go see a clinician if you’re in pain and you're concerned about it. But if you’re not sure what your next move should be, here are some quick and dirty tell-tale signs to see a clinician sooner than later:
If your pain occurred due to a trauma (like a fall or impact) with or without signs of swelling, bruising, or loss of function
If your pain is causing you to limp or use your body in a way that is abnormal to compensate for the pain (most pain should not do this!)
If your pain starts to creep into other aspects of your life from the activity that originally caused it
If you’ve been taking time away from the activity that causes pain and your pain continues to last more than 3 days
Pain And Moving Forward
If you don’t understand your pain, it can lead to fear and anxiety. It can stop you from doing the things you love, from your sport to your hobbies to just enjoying life. But once you have answers—like knowing your pain isn’t causing harm—that fear starts to lose its grip.
The key is getting the right information and guidance. Knowing whether your pain is just hurt or actual harm gives you the power to make smart decisions about your recovery. And that’s what really matters.