Your Body is Designed to Heal
The subject i am exploring is complicated. PAIN. The more i dig, the more challenging it gets. It's a hot topic for me for 2 reasons.
1) On a daily basis people come to me inquiring about a pain, usually musculoskeletal, that they are feeling in their body.
2) In about 3 months I will be experiencing one of the strongest physical sensations a human body can go through- childbirth.
The subject of pain is extremely complex, sensitive, subjective, personal, cultural, psychological, emotional and broad. I am in no way an expert... just curious.
Here are a few thoughts and findings i have gathered for your reading pleasure:
Injury vs Compensation. If we injure ourselves, we sometimes move (or don't move) in a certain way in order for the injury to heal. However, once the injury has healed sometimes pain persists because of compensatory patterns we have developed. INTERESTING.
Pain is in the brain. It is the nervous system, not the body, that decides when the sensation of pain should be expressed. The fancy term is "nociception". Whether it be a warning signal of danger or a sign that injury has occurred. INTRIGUING.
It's not always just physical. Pain is tied into our psyche and emotions, as well. Our thoughts, fears and trauma are stored in our bodies. Have you ever had a good cry or expressed something difficult to someone and noticed the tension in your neck has dispersed? Me too :) HALLELUJAH.
Kinesiophobia: Fear of movement. When i see someone moving with a pained look on their face, i ask them what they are feeling and surprisingly, A LOT of the time, they are not feeling pain. They say: "i'm afraid i will feel pain so i'm preparing myself for it". This means that they are tensing up their bodies and expecting, and possibly, creating other pain. WOW.
Pain vs ease. Sometimes we don't realize that we may only feel the pain for short times during the day or only specific moments in our lives and at other times we are actually at ease... but we tend not to focus on the ease bc the pain sensation over powers it. FASCINATING.
Culture and Pain. Did you know that in some cultures childbirth isn't thought of as painful, traumatic or scary? Did you know that some women don't experience pain during unmedicated natural labor? PRAISE BE!
Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic. Healing occurs when we are relaxed and calm. Our bodies cannot heal when we are stressed. Our sympathetic nervous system is designed to get us out of danger (fight or flight) but it is when we flip modes to our parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) that we can begin the healing processes.
So why does this all matter? I whole heartedly believe that the more we understand our body, mind & emotions and the connection between them, the better our bodies can do what they are designed to do: HEAL THEMSELVES. Being conscious in our daily activities, mindful in our movements, aware of our breathing and improving proprioception (watch video here!) can help the body & brain prevent pain from occurring. Once we accept responsibility for our bodies, we can be empowered to be our own healers.