Move to Mend: Healing Through Exercise vs Exertion
- Dr. Howard A. Friedman MD, founder of HHOM LLC
- Jul 7
- 4 min read
07-03-2025
By Dr. Howard Friedman MD | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps | Internal Medicine | HHOM LLC
One foot forward, and then again,
A march toward health, not pain.
But effort burns in different ways—
Not all motion heals or stays
To sweat with joy, or grind with strain—
The difference lies in what we gain.
---Dr. Howard Friedman MD.
Introduction – Movement is Medicine… But Only When It Heals
I’ve written before about the roots of inflammation—how diet, sleep, and stress reduction shape our internal fire. Today, we turn to something more visible: movement.
Exercise is not simply motion. It is deliberate, structured, and purposeful. It’s designed to improve or maintain physical fitness, promote healing, and support health across time. It adapts to your body. Exercise is not simply motion. It is deliberate, structured, and purposeful. Exertion, however, is a different beast. It’s often compulsive, reactive, or excessive.
Understanding the difference between exercise vs exertion is key—especially for veterans and high-achievers who’ve been taught to push past pain. Exertion, however, is a different beast. It’s often compulsive, reactive, or excessive. It may feel productive—but it’s rooted in pressure, pain, or past trauma. Veterans and high-achievers are especially vulnerable to confusing exertion with effectiveness. But the two are not the same. You can burn the same calories or move the same muscles—and still come away more inflamed than empowered. Some forms of movement heal. Others harm.
Exercise – The Healing Rhythm
Exercise is adaptive. It’s tied to breath, intention, and sustainability. It can take many forms:
A daily walk
Stretching with a partner
Dancing in your kitchen
Practicing tai chi in silence
What matters is not how hard you push, but how well you listen. Exercise improves cardiovascular health, mood, mobility, and reduces inflammation. It promotes joy and resilience—not guilt or depletion.
Let movement become a form of restoration, not punishment.
Exertion – The Strain We Mistake for Strength
Exertion is often mistaken for commitment. But more often, it’s driven by compulsion.
Pushing through fatigue. Ignoring pain. Forcing performance. This is not training—this is trauma reenactment.
Overtraining elevates cortisol, the stress hormone that fuels systemic inflammation. It may look virtuous on the outside—but on the inside, it’s burning the system down. This isn’t strength. It’s slow depletion.
Veterans and the Exertion Trap
The military teaches us to perform under pressure. To override pain. To “suck it up” and keep moving. That mindset can save lives in combat. But in civilian life, it becomes a trap.
When structure disappears, some veterans feel adrift—driven by old habits but lacking new anchors. Slowing down may feel like failure. Rest feels dangerous. Vulnerability is weakness.
This is how exertion masquerades as discipline. And this is how healing gets delayed.
Rewriting the Story – Gentle Strength
Movement doesn’t have to hurt to help. It doesn’t need to be loud, fast, or exhausting to be effective. Here are small, powerful shifts that can change your relationship with movement:
Start with breath – anchor in your nervous system before you move your body.
Listen to cues – use body scanning to detect tension or resistance.
Be consistent, not intense – healing requires repetition, not suffering.
Choose low-impact modalities – walking, swimming, yoga, tai chi, slow strength training.
These are not signs of weakness. They are acts of gentle strength—and they reduce inflammation over time.
Conclusion – Move to Heal, Not to Prove
Your body doesn’t need punishment. It needs partnership.
At Howard’s House of Medicine, we keep returning to the core truth: inflammation is the common denominator in most chronic disease—and the body’s loudest cry for help. The difference between healing and harming often lies in how we move.
Exercise lowers inflammation. Exertion raises it.
That’s how you know the difference.
So move to mend. Move with care. Move for life.
Thank you for reading.
—Dr. Howard Friedman MD
Board-Certified | Internal Medicine | Veteran | U.S. Army Medical Corps
Founder of Howard’s House of Medicine (HHOM LLC)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What’s the real difference between exercise and exertion?
A: Exercise is intentional, adaptive movement meant to strengthen and heal the body. It’s grounded in breath, purpose, and sustainability. Exertion, by contrast, is reactive—pushing beyond limits without listening. It often comes from guilt, trauma, or habit. One lowers inflammation. The other fuels it.
Q: Can exertion still feel productive—even if it’s harmful?
A: Yes, and that’s the danger. Exertion can feel like discipline or commitment, especially for veterans or high-achievers. But if you're ignoring pain, overriding fatigue, or chasing performance out of fear or habit—you may be harming your health, not helping it.
Q: How can I tell if my movement is helping or hurting?
A: Ask yourself: Does this movement leave me feeling energized or depleted? Are you listening to your body—or forcing it? Healing movement feels restorative, not punishing. If your exercise feels like survival mode, it’s time to reassess.