Advice

Pain is always unwelcome but it does have a purpose as a short-term hazard warning

If we were unable to feel pain we’d be in trouble. Pain is a useful call to action which is important for learning and survival – like the pain of treading on a pin or touching something hot

“Acute” pain is what we call this short-term pain. It doesn’t describe the intensity, just the quick onset and short duration

“Chronic” pain often describes ongoing pain that has failed to stop at the right time when its usefulness as a signal is over

Obviously there are conditions and illnesses that themselves are ongoing and long-term pain is then part of a continuing unwellness. But chronic pain after musculoskeletal injury may often persist because the sensitivity and volume remain turned up beyond “normal tissue healing time”

In chronic pain, it is believed that two different types of pain fibre which carry signals to the brain either stay permanently switched on or have their volume turned up in error and stick that way. These signals trick the brain into believing there is still ongoing damage and vulnerability in the body when this is not true

For example in whiplash following car accidents there is a huge body of research that shows hurt is not the same as harm. This research found that the sooner people get going with normal activities after a whiplash injury, the sooner they recover from it

Pain is not a simple on-off switch that is felt identically by different individuals. Being anxious or sad about your pain really can make it worse. Emotions are like amplifiers in your brain which can turn the volume of pain up or down. So a first-aider reassuring a casualty or a soldier fighting for survival can turn this volume down. In the same way as someone who fears a trip to the dentist can unwittingly turn the volume up

Chronic pain is one of the biggest health problems worldwide and some 20% of adults experience it. It can lead people to live defensively in fear of pain and to stop trusting their bodies even though it may just be a feedback fault

Understanding the original cause and effect and any maintaining factors in chronic musculoskeletal pain can be a great first step towards getting out of this unhelpful state

Of all the different types of tissue in the body, muscle is the most supremely adaptable from moment to moment.

Changing shape and activity on demand is what muscle is all about. It’s not simply about being able to move smoothly, efficiently and with ease. The body is the best picture of the soul and it is our muscles that give shape to our posture and the way we move

Muscles express the emotions as “body language” whether through open fluid movement or slumped and reduced vitality

The muscles of facial expression have a profound effect on our daily interactions. A newborn baby will instantly map the features and expressions on its mother’s face and try to mirror those expressions. Babies instinctively know that practice is everything in order to develop

We can train and retrain our muscles and movement at any age with just a little regular practice. Using your muscles boosts your metabolism and circulation and triggers hormones that boost body repair and feel-good factors

Movement is life, move a bit more and feel a lot livelier!

Research shows clearly that regular enjoyable physical exercise can reduce stress and anxiety in many ways, for example exercise:

• reduces the body’s response to stress by boosting the “feel-good” hormone serotonin in the brain

• improves our breathing mechanics (more on the huge benefits of that later)

• stimulates our heart and blood vessels

• boosts oxygen and energy efficiency in all our cells

• helps balance our hormonal systems and our metabolism

• evens out our reactions of fright and flight to events in our lives

• gives us a sense of achievement and self-worth

• boosts vitamin D levels if we are outside

• connects us with others if we are in a class or out and about

• improves sleep patterns and good sleep helps us to regulate our emotions more easily…

…a virtuous circle of benefit, maybe that’s why getting to a class or getting outside makes us feel virtuous too!