Sometimes it’s hard to tell if your aches and pains are just normal post exercise soreness or something more serious. Here’s our quick guide to telling the difference.

TIME: Did the pain begin after a memorable event? Like a fall or other impact? Most lasting injuries have a defined origin story you would remember, while soreness slowly creeps up over time.

LOCATION: Does the painful area move around? Or get better when you move, but worse when you stay still for a long time? True injuries will not often stray from one spot and are reproduced with similar motions, while soreness will come and go.

INTENSITY: Much like location, pain intensity will vary with soreness. While an injury may hurt less when you stop moving it, the pain upon reproducing the associated movement won’t change much initially.

STRENGTH: Soreness generally will not impact strength beyond feelings of tightness. Injuries often will produce weakness in a particular motion.