3 min read

Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes, and what to do about it!

Everyone agrees that pain is a universal human experience.

We now know that pain is 100% of the time produced by the brain. This includes all pain no matter how it feels, sharp, dull, strong or mild and no matter how long you've had it.

If you have had it for a few weeks or months, it is called acute pain and it's common with tissue damage. Per example, if you have a back injury or ankle sprain and generally you'll be encouraged to stay active and gradually get back to doing all your normal things including work.

If you have it for 3 months or more, then this pain is called persistent or chronic. In this type of pain, tissue damage is not the main issue. Having a brain that keeps on producing pain even after the body tissues are restored and out of danger is no fun.

Once anything dangerous is ruled out, health professionals say that most things in the body are usually healed within 3 to 6 months. However, after 3 months, the pain is less about structural changes in the body and more about the sensitivity of the nervous system.

In other words it's more complex, so to try and figure out what's going on you need to retrain the brain and nervous system. To do this it's helpful to look at all the things that affect the nervous system and may be contributing to your individual pain experience.

1- Taking medication can help but only to a limited extent.

It is the more active approaches that are necessary to retrain the brain so using medications to get going is okay and then mostly they can be tapered and ceased. Some people also think surgery might be the answer but when it comes to a complex problem like chronic pain, surgery may not be helpful so if you're thinking of surgery it's best to get a second opinion and remember to consider all the things.

2- It is helpful to consider how your thoughts and emotions are affecting your nervous system.

Pain really impacts on people's lives and this can have a big effect on your mood and stress levels.

All those thoughts and beliefs are brain impulses too but you can learn ways to reduce stress and wind down the nervous system. This helps with emotional well-being and can reduce pain as well.

3- The third area to consider is the role of diet and lifestyle.

Now it turns out that our modern lifestyle might not be so good for us, in fact what we eat and how we live may really be contributing to a sensitized nervous system. Looking at all the things like smoking, nutrition, alcohol and activity levels and seeing if there are any issues is a good beginning and these things can go on your plan.

4- Then there's often enormous value in exploring the deeper meaning of pain and the surrounding personal story

You can step back and look at all the things that were happening around the time the pain developed. Many people with pain can make useful links between a worrying period of life and a worsening pain picture. For many recognizing deeper emotions can be part of the healing process last but by no means least is physical activity and function.

From the brains perspective getting moving at comfortable levels without fear and where the brain does not protect by pain is best and you'll gradually restore your body's tissues.