A Fresh Pain Pain Perspective.

Pain doesn’t always come directly from injury. A fracture, a sprain, cut, or surgery sends danger signals to your brain, but it’s your brain that decides whether or not to produce pain. Sometimes, that system misfires

For example, many people are told they have “bone-on-bone” arthritis, and “out of place” pelvis, or a spine that looks “90 years old,” and naturally assume they should hurt. But common findings on X-rays or MRIs, like arthritis, or joint asymmetry, don’t always correlate with pain.

A common example of this is the story of a carpenter who stepped on a nail and was rushed to the ER in agony. When his boot was removed, the nail had passed harmlessly between his toes. No injury, just a powerful brain response. What we think can dramatically affect what we feel.

Stress also plays a mojor role. A difficult day at work or conflict at home can spike cortisol and ramp up your nervous system, sometime triggering pain, even without injury.

So, what keeps you grounded and regulated? This is your ”low Pain Recipe.” For me, it’s family time, moderate exercise, good sleep, healthy food, less work, meditation, balance, boundries, and keeping life simple. These are not luxuries, they’re necessities.

To recap and expound: Pain isn’t always about tissue damage. We can predict healing timelines for most injuries. If your pain persisits well beyond those timelines, your brain may be sending faulty signals, and that’s is something we can address.

This is why addressing stress and nervous system regulation is so important in physcial therapy. Pain can be amplified by life stress, even when the tissue is just fine.

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