Healing from persistent pain is a journey. I believe these 3 components are necessary for the healing journey.
The Body
The body has this amazing capacity to heal itself. It has all sorts of systems in place to communicate, repair and restore function. However, the body needs the right environment in which to heal itself. For example, if you cut your finger, your body will heal it on its own but….if you keep touching the wound, get dirt or bacteria in the wound, healing will take longer. In the case of a sprain or strain, the body will heal the tissue, but if you over due activity, don’t stretch, or rest too long, the tissues may take longer to heal and might not heal in an ideal way. Pain is a way that the body communicates with us, but what its trying to say might not always be clear.
Is pain saying we need to take it easy? Is it saying we have been sitting, standing or laying down too long? Is it saying we need to stretch? Or that we stretched too far? Perhaps the body is way too tense?
This is where the mind comes in.
The Mind
We know from modern pain science that pain does not always equal tissue damage. Our thoughts, emotions, values can impact the pain experience. Pain might be talking about the tissue, the overall state of the body but it could also be talking about much more. To learn more about the pain experience have a listen to Professor Lorimer Moseley at a TEDx talk called Why Things Hurt. He is a leader in pain neuroscience research and his talk shares a lot of information on pain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwd-wLdIHjs
What I want to identify is that when the mind focuses too narrowly on the injury or pain, we sometimes miss the opportunity to see other aspects that may be impacting our healing and recovery. For example, a few questions you might want to ask yourself the next time you feel pain or have a flare up.
- What activity was I performing when the pain started? Do I like/enjoy this activity?
- What emotions am I experiencing right now? Anger, frustration, fear, boredom, anxiety, etc?
- What was I thinking about prior to the pain starting? Were my thoughts positive, negative, worrisome?
- What sensations am I feeling? Aching? Burning? Stinging? And how are these sensations changing from moment to moment?
Keeping a journal can help unlock clues as to why the pain is not going away.
Lastly, without the self, nothing can be accomplished
The Self
You are the primary healer. You know your body better than anyone else. You are the captain of your ship and we as therapists are here as supporting crew members. We are here to help get you started by providing hands on care but also suggestions and tools for you to use outside of treatment sessions. And we are here to support you as you continue down the healing path, making adjustments that best suit your journey. There are 168 hours a week. You may be in treatment for 2-3 hours a week. What you do with the remaining hours, can help or slow the healing process.
By: Madelaine Golec PT, B.A (Hons), MSc.PT, Registered Physiotherapist.