Pacing THRU, Pacing UP, Pacing DOWN

Pacing is very important in the management of chronic conditions, including chronic pain management.

A year ago today I wrote Pacing for Beginners, an article that essentially talked about pacing UP, In other articles, such as Beat the Boom Bust Cycle, I have referred to pacing, in the context of pacing THRU. What’s the difference? Isn’t pacing, pacing? Well, not really.

We need to understand the difference so we don’t get stuck doing one, when in fact the other or both may be more beneficial for our long-term condition management. We risk pacing DOWN.

Pacing THRU

Many chronic condition patients suffer fatigue. The degree will vary from day to day, the severity will be different for each patient. Natalie van Scheltinga has a very good description in Fatigue In Chronic Illness Explained, using “The Battery Analogy”. Some people find this analogy works better for their situation that the oft-cited Spoon Theory. Both are good illustrations of how the fatigue can affect one’s daily life.

We are all different. Both these images below are daisies, yet one has WAY more petals than the other. Think of each petal as a unit of energy. We could make this really complex and compare the size of each unit of energy, but let’s not delve that deeply today. Most chronic illness patients have a certain number of petals they can use per day. Increasing the number of petals, if possible, is a good thing.

Pacing THRU is about getting through the day with the energy we have. Yes, we DO have to be careful not to go overboard. Even now, as healthy as I now am, I am still technically “sick”. I know that a two hour commute to work would not be something I could do on a regular basis. On the days I do my strength workouts, the strength workout is the only major “task” I do that day. I am playing around with my routine currently, more on that later.

Pacing UP

Pacing up is used in clinical pain management settings. It is, of course, also used in sports, personal training and a host of other activities. I paced UP, over a four year period, from 5-minute walks several times a day to whole body strength work-outs and swimming. No-one runs a marathon without building up to it.

Pacing UP is not just about being able to walk further than yesterday or regaining the ability to sweep the floor. It is also about energy levels. As we improve our physical endurance and strength and reduce or eliminate our pain, we sleep better, energy levels improve, functionality improves. Our overall quality of life improves.

It should be noted pacing UP does not always involve movement. For example, if sitting causes pain, pacing UP may be used to extend the body’s tolerance to sitting. For the purpose of this discussion today, I am referring to movement.

Pacing DOWN

If we only pace THRU and don’t have a strategy in place to pace UP, we run the risk of pacing DOWN. When we pace DOWN we run all the de-conditioning risks I repeat regularly (some may say I repeat ad nauseam). We will get sicker, likely experience more pain, lose more functionality.

Our quality of life will deteriorate, we risk losing our independence, our freedom and possibly our financial stability. Pacing DOWN is not good. As with pacing UP, pacing DOWN happens gradually. We may not even really notice it: until the day we realise we can’t do something we used to be able to do easily or we notice our pain has increased. Yes, for some this will be because of disease progression – for many others it will be the result of inadvertently pacing DOWN.

We are a little delicate, like the dandelion seed head. Remember as children blowing them? It doesn’t take a lot to blow us away either. Yet we are also stronger than we realise. Bring that strength to the fore, use it.

Pacing THRU and UP

It is a recipe. A lot of THRU and a little bit of UP to start. Mix gently and simmer over a low heat.

Most chronic illness patients will need to do both. Initially, more THRU than UP. The plan should be to reach a point where UP become easier and THRU becomes less of a concern. DOWN? Avoided totally.

Practical example from my own experience. For some time my routine has been two strength workouts a week, one  swimming session and daily walking. I’ve been pacing UP within those sessions; increasing weights, increasing swim set metres. This is where balancing UP and THRU comes into play. I have a target number of steps for the day, at the moment 7,500. When I am in the gym, I still clock up steps. When I am in the pool, I don’t, even though 1,000 metre swim is considered roughly 4,000 steps. So, if I were to increase my total swim use of energy, should I still aim for my 7,500 steps? I’d have paced UP my swimming, but I would NOT have paced THRU my day and run the risk of draining myself and paying for it the next day. Then I would possibly actually drop my activity level the following day, which is not to my long-term benefit. Sure, one day here or there is not a massive issue, but if a pattern develops, it becomes a problem as it can lead to pacing DOWN. Yes, my ultimate aim is to have both: increased swimming distance AND my steps target. I have to balance getting there.

The appropriate balance needs to be carefully planned out for each person, depending on their particular situation, conditions and degree of condition progression. Sometimes we can feel discouraged. Giving up, giving in, is not an option.

SMART Goal Setting

It is important to set goals to measure progress when pacing UP. Please click through to Make 2018 YOUR Year for SMART Goals, where I outline how and when to use goal setting to assist you. I know 2018 is drawing to a close, but the strategy remains the same!

I am looking at new goals for myself for 2019. That’s why I am playing around with my routine. When I moved from one strength session a week to two a week, I needed to be careful to not overdo any particular day. I increased my total for the week, but each individual session is less that my original single weekly session. If I increase my swimming, how much do I adjust my step target on those days? What will work for my body? So I’m trialing options at the moment. I’ve reached a stage of improvement where I can do that.

This article is of a general nature and does not constitute specific exercise advice for any individual person. For patients with particularly complex or advanced conditions, this may not be appropriate. If in doubt, seek professional guidance.

Contact me for a confidential chat as a starting point to pacing UP.

Main image “Pacing Tiger” Heather Ruth Rose/Shutterstock.com

Further Reading:

4 Resilient Ways to Cope With Chronic Pain – Huffington Post

Doctors and Exercise – Limberation.com