What is pain? Back pain, sciatica, hip pain, knee pain

Have you forgotten the freedom of being pain-free?

Here I give you a very brief overview of pain.

6 ways to make it worse and 6 ways to ease the pain.

Ask yourself a very quick question, what is pain?

Pain occurs in the body to let the brain know that there is a problem. We give pain different labels, such as sciatica, frozen shoulder or tennis elbow to help us to understand and deal with the pain.

Pain is pain, irrespective of where it occurs in the body and the sensation of pain is unique to you.

Some people are sensitive to pain and others don’t feel pain at all. Amputees can experience pain in a limb that no longer exists. The feeling is very real. We may also be able to dampen the pain sensation if we choose to.

Young businesswoman with back pain

There are 3 phases of healing and 2 stages of pain.

  1. Inflammation, which protects from further damage. It lasts around 3-5 days.
  2. Repair, cells replace damaged tissue. This last between 4-6 weeks.
  3. Remodelling, where tissue remodels itself. It can take anywhere between 6-12 months, or longer.

The 2 stages of pain are;

  1. Acute – where injury has occurred. It’s can last for up to 12 weeks
  2. Chronic – this is long-term and continues beyond the acute phase. There isn’t any obvious sign of injury. This is where the signals from the body can be misinterpreted by the brain.

If you suffer from chronic pain, or intermittent pain that has never been resolved, start to analyse your habits and lifestyle. Is there something that you’re doing, or not doing, that you could change?

6 aspects that can create or exacerbate pain:

  • Lack of movement
  • Dehydration
  • Fear of creating more pain or making it worse
  • Poor nutrition
  • Being overweight
  • Poor posture

6 things that can help to ease the pain:

  • Take a warm bath or applying a heat pad/wheat pillow to the sore spot.
  • Meditation and mindfulness help to slow the body down.
  • Make sure you have a well-made and supportive mattress, together with a dark bedroom for quality sleep.
  • Listen to your body. There will be times when you need to rest.
  • Take your time. Your brain needs to learn new patterns and that takes practice and time. You wouldn’t expect to learn a new language overnight.
  • Give your pain a name and description, an avatar. Then imagine it walking away from you. This technique was used with great effect by Sarah Houldcroft, Goldcrest Books

If you need any help please contact me to book your free call.

Look after yourself