Our brain protects us from further injury

Pain is hard to explain and it's hard for many of us to live with. It is completely and utterly personal and your pain cannot be compared to anyone else.

I frequently have clients coming in to tell me their pain is not as bad as someone elses and they know people who are worse off than themselves.

My concern is the person in front of me. You have taken the time and energy to invest in yourself because your pain has placed restrictions on you, and your issue needs to be corrected. It's affecting the way you live YOUR life. So, try to stop comparing yourself to someone else.

The first thing you have to understand about pain is that it is a warning system. It's your body's way of telling you something is wrong.

However, when that pain lasts longer than expected, even knowing the tissue has healed, and the pain is still overwhelming, we head off to our doctor hoping for an explanation and an answer. We have tests, specialist appointments, we take medication and none of those things provide us with an answer.

It Is very frustrating.

For some reason our brain and our body is miscommunicating. There is a belief in that system that something is wrong and something is dangerous and it must be protected. Even if tests show nothing, your pain is real.

What we have to do is find a way to arrange pain in a means that changes your communication system to reduce that pain.

Have you ever been stung by a wasp ? How do you feel about wasps after that? Not so keen? Your brain remembers it's threatened by them and doesn't want to experience that discomfort again. Similarly, do you know someone that hurt their back badly from lifting? Their reluctance to do any lifting because of fear is very real. They're not being wimps, their brain is telling them to protect themselves from further injury.

The job of a physiotherapist is to help re-educate that system while strengthening the muscles. I'm getting you back to a place where you have confidence in your body again.

Remember your pain is real but recovery is real too!

Nicola Robertson

Registered Physiotherapist