---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do back exercises. Pain is distracting."
description: "\"Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.\" — Margaret Atwood"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg"
---

#  Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.

![“Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg)

> “Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.”

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Physical activity can serve as a distraction, reducing the perception of pain and improving focus.

**In simple terms:** Exercise distracts from pain.

Key Takeaway

Use movement to shift attention away from discomfort.

Themes

pain management mindfulness exercise

Mood

motivational practical

Type

self‑help wellness

When to use this quote

- gym workouts
- short stretching breaks
- painful tasks
- stressful work periods

Key Concepts

cognitive distraction physical health

Questions to Reflect On

- What simple exercises can you do when pain strikes?
- How does movement affect your mental focus?

A Different Perspective

Physical pain may still require medical attention beyond distraction.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [I did weightlifting and bodyweight-focused exercises such as chin-ups, pull-ups and press-ups with my personal trainer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-piper/i-did-weightlifting-and-bodyweight-focused-exercises-such-as-chin-ups/)

[Katie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-piper/)

> [I get very frustrated by this term 'genre exercise.' I mean, what exactly is that? Genre is not really relevant when you are writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/i-get-very-frustrated-by-this-term-genre-exercise-i-mean-what-exactly/)

[Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/)

> [I like to do varied exercises, even just going for a hike with my friends or taking my dog for a walk, then going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-maxwell/i-like-to-do-varied-exercises-even-just-going-for-a-hike-with-my/)

[Stella Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-maxwell/)

> [“These exercises are the squat, deadlift, bench press, and military press, and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-matthews/these-exercises-are-the-squat-deadlift-bench-press-and-military-press/)

[Michael Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-matthews/)

> [I think some of my colleagues' spicier lines are distracting. They draw attention away from what the justice is trying to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/i-think-some-of-my-colleagues-spicier-lines-are-distracting-they-draw/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [Reading a book and having to re-read the same paragraph over and over again because your thoughts are too distracting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit/reading-a-book-and-having-to-re-read-the-same-paragraph-over-and-over/)

[AmiT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit/)

> [The climb will go. Get rid of the rope. It's only distracting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lowe/the-climb-will-go-get-rid-of-the-rope-it-s-only-distracting-you/)

[Jeff Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lowe/)

> [“Why is it that you think that technologies are any more distracting than your own mind or anything else in the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoush-zomorodi/why-is-it-that-you-think-that-technologies-are-any-more-distracting/)

Manoush Zomorodi

> [“You’re distracting,” I said truthfully. “I won’t be. I promise,” Noah said. “I’ll get some crayons and draw quietly. Alone. In a corner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-hodkin/you-re-distracting-i-said-truthfully-i-won-t-be-i-promise-noah-said-i/)

[Michelle Hodkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-hodkin/)

> [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/)

[Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/)

> [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/)

[Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/)

> [To the distracting occupations belong especially my lecture courses which I am holding this winter for the first time, and which now cost much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/to-the-distracting-occupations-belong-especially-my-lecture-courses/)

[Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/)

> [Silence and solitude are more distracting to me than chatter and commotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilu-henner/silence-and-solitude-are-more-distracting-to-me-than-chatter-and/)

[Marilu Henner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilu-henner/)

> [Eyes are distracting. You see too much. You don't see enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-graham/eyes-are-distracting-you-see-too-much-you-don-t-see-enough/)

[Will Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-graham/)

> [Distracting reactions about anything undermine a clear mind about anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/distracting-reactions-about-anything-undermine-a-clear-mind-about/)

[David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/)

## More by Margaret Atwood

> [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/)

[margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

[Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## More Distracting quotes

> [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/)

[Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/)

> [Eyes are distracting. You see too much. You don't see enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-graham/eyes-are-distracting-you-see-too-much-you-don-t-see-enough/)

[Will Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-graham/)

> [Silence and solitude are more distracting to me than chatter and commotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilu-henner/silence-and-solitude-are-more-distracting-to-me-than-chatter-and/)

[Marilu Henner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilu-henner/)

> [To the distracting occupations belong especially my lecture courses which I am holding this winter for the first time, and which now cost much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/to-the-distracting-occupations-belong-especially-my-lecture-courses/)

[Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/)

> [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/)

[Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/)

> [“You’re distracting,” I said truthfully. “I won’t be. I promise,” Noah said. “I’ll get some crayons and draw quietly. Alone. In a corner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-hodkin/you-re-distracting-i-said-truthfully-i-won-t-be-i-promise-noah-said-i/)

[Michelle Hodkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-hodkin/)

> [“Why is it that you think that technologies are any more distracting than your own mind or anything else in the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoush-zomorodi/why-is-it-that-you-think-that-technologies-are-any-more-distracting/)

Manoush Zomorodi

> [The climb will go. Get rid of the rope. It's only distracting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lowe/the-climb-will-go-get-rid-of-the-rope-it-s-only-distracting-you/)

[Jeff Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lowe/)

> [Reading a book and having to re-read the same paragraph over and over again because your thoughts are too distracting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit/reading-a-book-and-having-to-re-read-the-same-paragraph-over-and-over/)

[AmiT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit/)

> [I think some of my colleagues' spicier lines are distracting. They draw attention away from what the justice is trying to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/i-think-some-of-my-colleagues-spicier-lines-are-distracting-they-draw/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [Distracting reactions about anything undermine a clear mind about anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/distracting-reactions-about-anything-undermine-a-clear-mind-about/)

[David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/)

> [For a long time, I would write without music, because I thought it was distracting until I appreciated that it actually unlocks a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/for-a-long-time-i-would-write-without-music-because-i-thought-it-was/)

[John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/)

> [“For some reason it reminded her of his fingers caressing her cheek in the tiny room. But that thought, along with his exposed throat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-dickerson/for-some-reason-it-reminded-her-of-his-fingers-caressing-her-cheek-in/)

[Melanie Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-dickerson/)

> [You don't say "Maybe I should go to bed early tonight" or do any of that stuff. It's almost like you know you're alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ladyhawke/you-don-t-say-maybe-i-should-go-to-bed-early-tonight-or-do-any-of/)

[Ladyhawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ladyhawke/)

> [What works for me is that I read widely and stay focused on my writing. I'm no longer concerned about what happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/what-works-for-me-is-that-i-read-widely-and-stay-focused-on-my/)

[Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/)

Browse all 123 Distracting quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Margaret Atwood"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Distracting"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/margaret-atwood-40_distracting_do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting-31_3169494.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.” — Margaret Atwood",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Margaret Atwood",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/do-back-exercises-pain-is-distracting/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
