A very poorly understood bodily function: PAIN. Also one that we can most relate with.  I hear too often about pain being a primary thought in patients' brains throughout each and every day.  It consumes us and does not allow us to be mindful and focus on the dynamic, breathtaking present life we are living in.  What results after a period of time dealing with an injury in this way is what we refer to as chronic pain.  Simply put, chronic pain outlasts the normal amount of time that we should be in pain for a given injury. There are physical changes that occur in our brain.  Understanding these changes and why pain develops in the first place can help one understand better how to cope with it.  Coping and understanding can help us all prevent the development of chronic pain or eliminate it completely.  But first, what is pain?

Pain is a Reminder

In order for us to sense anything we need signals in our bodies that tell us there is something presently to smell, feel, taste, see or hear. Pain is the signal to let us know that something is physically out of the place it should be. It often means there is damage and will automatically stimulate physical healing responses inside our body.  It is something that will get our attention and reproduce a response that protects us and prevent additional injury from occurring--Much like my kitten Bruce Wayne alerting me he is hungry by clawing my feet:  It usually gets a response, so he continues to do it when he wants to eat…(My problem not yours). Unfortunately we too often heed and catastrophize pain in our minds making it much more prolific resulting in sensitivity to that particular pain.

Pain can be tricked

As I have talked about, our mind is a very powerful thing.  When we don’t understand pain, we run away from it. We dread pain, we perseverate on it when it happens, we wonder, “will I ever feel better again?” This starts to send signals from your brain to the pain site and back signaling more pain.  It is like we are telling the pain to be more assertive sub-consciously.  All we want is to feel better, but all of the worry and wonder makes pain something much larger in your brain than it actually is. 

There are more neurological connections being made around all of those thoughts, scenarios, smells, tastes, and feelings that you associate with that particular pain stimulus—when your back goes out for example, if it is something that you have done many times before, huge signals will go off in your brain and the pain will re-occur (see figure 1).  The constant loop in your brain of associating pain with negative circumstance, and specific movements creates a very rapid pain response to very little stimuli. 

Once your pain has persisted for a month or more, it may start getting more sensitive to seemingly little things.  The pain has been led to believe that even slight movements are bad and the pain will be felt much quicker leading to what we define as chronic pain. So when your doctor says the pain is in your head, it does not mean you are making it up, it means your brain has created large responses to something that in normal circumstance would not hurt very much. This is not your fault but is something you can work on.

6 holistic ideas to address chronic pain

1. Understand and accept

Having even a basic grasp on what pain is and why it is useful for you while your body is healing will allow you to move past the awful thoughts that tell you pain is horrible and something we should absolutely avoid.  Remember, it’s a necessary thing!

2. Ease back into motion

Slow and progressive introductions to movements that bring on your pain are necessary to open the closed-loop of chronic pain.  You have to let your body know very gently, that everything is going to be okay; simple movements like getting low back pain every time you bend forward need to be reframed After all, our bodies were made to move.  It begins with introducing the movement. Start with very supported positions to avoid creating a lot of stimulation around the painful areas, progressing back into a regular exercise program that involves your entire body.  While mentally diminishing the pain, you also have to physically diminish it, in order to truly open that chronic pain loop and feel like you want to.

3. Eat better

There are endless amounts of all-natural foods that have anti-inflammatory properties.  Processed foods, foods high in fat and dairy can actually increase inflammation in our bodies.  Inflammation is the physical source of our pain associated with injuries.  It creates increased blood flow, stimulates healing and fights off bacteria in the area—a very necessary function.  It also creates increased heat, pressure and leaves off harmful bi-products in the area.  This can actually break down tissue over time if persistent.  Inflammation exists even when we aren’t in pain and can be silently disruptive. To bring down bodily inflammation, eat things like: Turmeric, Ginger, and Broccoli, fresh mixed leafy vegetables, blueberries, pineapple, fish and nuts.  The list goes on…

4. Surround yourself in quality

Turn on music you like, exercise in places that are comfortable or beautiful.  Be around people that make you happy and invigorate you. Do activities that are stimulating and meaningful to you. Distract your brain from all that pain chatter while you live in the moment.

5. Positive self-talk

Positive self-talk makes all of those associations to the pain seem insignificant over time.  “My back is truly healthy, I believe this wholeheartedly and am going to push myself as much as I can to get it moving better.  I can do this!”  Saying things like this to yourself may feel super silly and weird at first but believing in what you say can be very effective at creating neural connections in your brain that help diminish your pain. You can focus on other things in your life as your will find out.

6. Visualization

Use your imagination to create positive images in your head that involve you doing awesome things, pain-free that might be painful right now.  Close your eyes, imagine your best self and identify all the details of the particular activity including how it smells, feels, tastes, and looks.  Put yourself in the first person and imagine the best possible outcome of that scenario.  Visualization reinforces positive feelings and sensations with that task just like physically performing the task would. 

Chronic pain is debilitating to a large number of people I know and have worked with.  While I can sympathize with the debilitating nature of chronic pain, I also want to make sure you all know there is a solution.   Practicing daily can change your perception of pain and allow you to deal with it more effectively the next time your low back goes out. 

If chronic pain is holding you back and you need some ideas don’t hesitate to contact me.  Pain management of this sort will always accompany my physical rehabilitation plans when we are dealing with chronic pain.  I work out of the Seattle area and will travel to you.  Hit me up for a consultation. 

Cheers,

-Michael