Have you ever been in Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is defined as pain that’s long-lasting (usually more than 3 months) and can have a severe impact on your personal and work life.

As a Movement specialist, I’m really interested in how the brain and the nervous system affect pain in our bodies. It’s my role to both educate clients in terms of how their pain is showing up, whilst calming the nervous system to signal to the brain that we are safe. We can then start to move through it.

It’s important to know that not all pain is caused by structural damage. Also important is to recognise that all pain is real. However, once we have ruled out structural damage being the cause, why then does pain keep presenting?

Brent Anderson, founder of Polestar Pilates, and author of ‘Principles of Movement’ notes that The International Association for the Study of Pain, defines pain as:

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with actual, or potential tissue damage.

This was updated in 2018 to reflect the fact that pain is highly individualised and is often based on past experiences located deep in the body and the nervous system (ibid).

Let’s look at how we get stuck in the pain cycle, and most importantly how we can MOVE through pain.

1. Fear. Chronic pain can be fuelled by fear. You might catastrophise in terms of the impact of your pain on your daily life, and your future. Dialing down that fear response is key to recovery, and movement can be key to interrupting those unhelpful thoughts and bringing you to a calmer state. Initially, finding positive movement experiences, without pain, is a good place to start.

2. Focus. Naturally if we’re in pain, we focus (and actually can become a bit obsessed) with our pain. Being able to NOTICE how your brain messages you, and switch the narrative is important.

3. Fixing. This is a tricky one, because of course you want to fix the problem, so you focus on it. However, educating yourself and understanding how pain works, will be more useful than trying to fix the problem.

4. Frustration. Despite trying different approaches, nothing seems to work. Coming out of thinking mode, and into a more calm state through gentle movement and an adjustment of ‘mind state’ will help. We want to access the Parasympathetic State to interrupt the concerning narrative.

5. Fight. Battling long-term pain can feel like a rollercoaster of emotions, and wear you down. Understanding that the brain is trying to protect you is key. Again, dialling down the fear response through a combination of breath, somatic movement and a sense of proprioception can all help.

If you want to move toward pain-free movement, pause overthinking and mental overwhelm, and gently start to calm your nervous system, try my Online Pilates Membership, or my Beginner’s Course, both available on my website.

Reference: Anderson, B. Principles of Movement (2024) Slack Publishing, NJ, USA.