Hellooooooooo!!! Boy, do I have a fun topic of discussion today!
PAIN!!! Do I hear cheers?!?!? 👏🏼🎉👏🏼🎉 Isn’t that exciting and exactly what you were hoping for?!?!
Said no one EVER.
EXCEPT, pain is one of those shared human experiences that we all have. It is UNIVERSAL, without question, not just with physical pain but with emotional, psychological……..you get the idea. I’m faaaaairly certain that if I asked anyone on this planet to tell me about a time where they experienced pain, they could potentially tell me one story about it. Or MANY (many….many) stories, most likely. Be it super simple – – Like, “this one time, I got a huge paper cut…” – – to a more complex answer about a car accident, the loss of a special person or a pet, a heartbreak, an injury, or any type of traumatic recount of the past. (We could go on with these examples to include so many current events and significant topics in this country that needed major reform and massive change YESTERDAY. Also, at the same time, just saying “2020” as an answer to my pain inquiry above may get quite a few head nods of agreement. Yup.)
Carrying on…..
To live is to feel, love, and experience. And pain is an inevitable part of feeling, loving, and experiencing.
Does anyone else feel SUPER optimistic from this warm and bubbly conversation so far? Because I know that I DO. 🙋🏻♀️
😐🥺☹️ Okay, not so much.
But, WAIT!! Please hang on a sec because my intent is not to go down the rabbit hole of despair and talk about awful, painful moments in my life. As much fun as that sounds for all! 😬 Rather, I wanted to share some fascinating things that I have learned about the human body and the brain that have shifted my perspective surrounding the idea of pain. And maybe it will do the same for you!!! Things that may open your mind to new possibilities and perhaps even uplift you in the balance! That sounds waaaaaay better, doesn’t it?!?
This little cutie is all about it so I think we should proceed!!!!
TIDBIT #1: The main function of the brain is to keep you alive and safe to live another day.
Thank you, Brain!! Even though we may not express it often, (or ever? 🤔), I’m hoping all of us brain-inhabiting creatures greatly appreciate its life-saving attention to detail. It is our Survivor Keeper, 24/7.
TIDBIT #2: The brain and the nervous system never forget.
I have mentioned this before and it is SO important to keep in mind. Our Central Nervous System never forgets the trauma, experiences, and events of our past. This is a fact. Which means that the brain is consistently remembering and referring to past moments in our lives to “make sense” of the present. Even when the present may be drastically different from who we were and what we were doing months/years/decades ago!
If anyone has tried to make changes in their lives, small or major, and you find MASSIVE struggles, some progress and then slipping backwards, or even self-sabotage, (in my own experience, I will just say YES to these things…), many times it is because you are fighting against the ways of the past that your mind is still holding onto very tightly.
This <insert unfavorable behavior/habit here> served a purpose in the past so the brain thinks it must still be useful today. Remember, this could be in the conscious or the subconscious mind. Regardless of which one, the desired change you’d like has a hard time matching or overpowering the strength of an already-programmed, unfavorable behavior/habit in the brain, especially when the subconscious mind is in charge.
TIDBIT #3: Pain is constructed in the brain 100% of the time.
Now, this one is super interesting. Pain is an output of the brain, designed to protect the body and bring attention to tissue damage or bodily harm. Remember how the brain never forgets? Well, the nerves in the body send signals to the brain when something happens, like an injury or a splinter, for example. And it’s the brain that decides how serious that injury or threat is to our own individual survival by referring to past similar events/sensations and then alerting the body via pain. All of this happens in nanoseconds, of course. And this is why a broken arm for one person can be five times more painful than another person’s broken arm – -because it’s the brain’s interpretation of the situation through our own specific lenses of past experiences.
And sometimes our brain projects pain as a protective mechanism that isn’t entirely accurate…..
SIDE STORY: I have seen this TedX Adelaide talk (please see below) a few times now because the Speaker, Lorimer Moseley, is amazing, so funny, and incredibly knowledgeable about pain. He is a Clinical Neuroscientist and the story he tells about his own “pain experiences,” along with the comical way he describes it, is so worth watching if you have 14+ minutes to spare. It may give you a new perspective, since Moseley describes pain as “an illusion…what is biologically advantageous for me.” I know, WHAT??!? It makes so much sense when you watch his presentation so I highly de recommend it!!!
In case this link does not work the way I’m intending, please either copy/paste this link into your browser OR head to YouTube and look up “Tedx Adelaide – Lorimer Moseley – Why Things Hurt.” And if you choose to watch it, I would love to know your views on his information!
TIDBIT #4: The pain in your body doesn’t have to make sense to you but it is there for a reason. Because it needs some help.
Something interesting that I have learned is that the body never does anything for zero reason. There is ALWAYS a purpose. And here’s the thing: Usually our body gives us subtle signs before pain actually begins, (excluding spontaneous injuries or accidents), like feeling lethargic, dehydrated, antsy, or unfocused. Yet those signs, more often than not, go unnoticed, given little attention, or brushed aside. So the pain begins as the next wave of attention-seeking, which comes in an array of feelings like tingles, needle points, dull aches, and/or sharp stabbing sensations. From barely noticeable and mildly uncomfortable to extremely excruciating.
AND, interestingly enough, the site of chronic pain is rarely the cause of the pain itself. (Except in the instance of a broken arm or a torn ACL because those are localized traumas and the pain site is very accurate in these cases). Pain always carries a message, an alert, or an alarm that something needs help within our system. But this message can travel along many nerves and many pathways in the body and sometimes lands wherever it well pleases!
PLUS, our body is brilliant in the many ways it adjusts and attempts to keep the body functioning despite how hard we, as humans, tend to push our bodies to the limit. Like with poor posture or with never resting – – more on this in the next tidbit.
The main takeaway is that pain can DANCE and it doesn’t have to make sense to us. And there ARE ways to help the body even when the source may be coming from a non-obvious place.
TIDBIT #5: Our bodies are designed to heal, renew, and function well, despite our age or circumstances.
How many people do you know that expect their body to break down because they’re “getting old” or they avoid certain activities because they are “too old for _________ .” <—–Fill In The Blank Here. They’re accepting of these things as “the way it is” because they believe that this is just a part of life and getting older…..
BUT……….
What if I told you that your body is capable of healing and that you can live a pain-free life at any age? Would you believe me?
And OF COURSE, this is my most favorite tidbit of information that I shall share with you today. Our bodies have a very specific design for moving, running, jumping, turning, and so on. Like a toddler that naturally squats with perfect form and has never been taught, the body is meant to carry that perfect form throughout our lifetime. HOWEVER, here comes all of the poor posture habits that we develop, as we sit for hours upon hours every day, hunched over at the computer, and slouched over watching television. Or the way we work so hard, running all day long, and we barely have time for sleep. All of these things start to play a role in how the body functions because, as a simple explanation, we start to lose the mobility/stability in our joints and then dysfunctions or compensations start to take over.
I promise to wrap this post up shortly!!! The last ideas that I want to leave you with are these:
1 – When posture suffers, the entire body suffers because your body is one unit and every single piece is connected.
2 – If you are in constant pain, there is a way to lessen or relieve that pain without surgery because the body is always trying to naturally heal you and it is asking you for help so it can do its job. (Yes, in my case, I have a torn ACL and no amount of training or posture therapy will regrow my ACL so surgery is a necessity. I’m talking about chronic, persistent pain that makes life incredibly challenging.)
3 – Picture this:
– – – A person’s right ankle has lost it’s mobility so it can’t function properly.
– – – To make up for it, the right calf and the right knee start to take over for the lack of mobility of the right ankle. Soon, this person starts to develop right knee pain.
– – – To avoid this knee pain, the person begins walking differently and making the left hip work extra hard to support the new gait pattern. And this is where the body stays for months and months and months….and maybe years…..until the pain in the left hip is DEBILITATING. Why? Because the changed gait has shifted the left hip structure so it is and has been grating inside the socket. And wearing down the cartilage all of this time from the poor alignment.
– – – This person deals with the pain as long as possible but then exasperatingly decides to have a left hip replacement because the pain is too excruciating. And the surgery is successful.
– – – But then the left knee starts to hurt really badly, along with the lower back. So what is the course of action? To get a left knee MRI or go to a spine specialist?? Because the pain in the left knee and the back continues to get worse and worse so the contemplation for a left knee surgery begins….
Why does this happen??????
Because the right ankle started this chain of events but EVERYTHING ELSE took over for it’s lack of function, piece by piece. And until that right ankle is tended to and remobilized, no amount of surgeries or disc fusions or even getting that right hip replaced will fix the source of the true problem. And guess what?? Throughout all of this, that right ankle probably felt great, without any pain at all! And can you see how fixing the lack of mobility in the ankle would have prevented the chain of events from starting in the first place?
Eye-opening, right?? Please let that sink in. There is a reason for the pain you may feel and most likely it is not coming from where you think it is.
And the best news?? Is that if we could restore our posture and our alignment, our body could would heal it’s woes, like the worn cartilage, because that is it’s job. And it can’t do its job when our alignment is putting our joints in compromising positions. Which means we start doing less and hurting more and feeling like this pain and discomfort is permanent.
And I am here to tell you that it IS NOT. So, please never settle because the answer you seek just hasn’t been uncovered yet!!!!!
INSTEAD, let’s say “Pain, what’s up???” and get curious about why the pain we feel is there is the first place. Because from that place of openness and possibility, we can find the answers we need to live the best quality of life, pain free, until the young age of 100+!!!!!! And it is never too late to take care of your body and make these changes to your health and wellness.
I call that some exciting and life-changing news!!!!!!!!
I see this quote and I read it as “I take responsibility for my life, where I am today, and how I am feeling. And with this accepted responsibility comes the power within me to change what no longer serves me in my reality. Because no one can really do it but me.”
In my opinion, there is nothing more empowering that that: Knowing that you have the power to change your own life in all the ways that you need.
You just have to believe. 🧚🏼♂️🦄☘️💫🌈✨
❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗