7 Things You NEED to Know About Pain

Pain comes from your Brain.

Originally pain was thought to have originated in the tissues of the body which signaled our brain of damage and pain. We now know through modern pain science that pain is an output, not input, of the brain. Based on the information gathered from the body the brain sends an output of pain to regions of the body it feels might be in danger. To put is simply PAIN IS AN ALARM! The purpose of pain is to alert us to possible injury or disease.

Damage DOES NOT correlate with pain.

It has been found through modern pain science that pain is an individual experience. Some individuals may suffer a serious injury whereas the exact opposite can be true. A persons pain depends on many factors

X-ray’s, MRI’s, CAT scans, etc are not very reliable for identifying pain.

A recent study of individuals 60 years or older with no history of low back pain found that 36% had a herniated disc, 21% had spinal stenosis, and more than 90% had a degenerated or bulging disc as found with diagnostic imaging.

Your mental state may affect your pain, especially depression and anxiety.

Many Psychological conditions can influence the amount of pain one experiences. . Recently in the Journal of Pain research showed that an individuals psychological state prior to a total knee replacement were directly related to the patients long term pain following their surgery.

Social factors also influence pain.

Often times people report increased pain when they are in stressful situations especially work. If your brain interprets the environment as “unsafe” it may generate pain signals to protect your body.

Pain education is a powerful treatment.

Recently a large study conducted with military personnel showed that those who were given a 45-minute educational session about pain sought care for low back pain less than those who did not receive the education.

There is no way of proving that you have a high tolerance for pain.

It is very common for people to claim that they have a “high pain tolerance”. There is currently no research to indicate there is an accurate way to measure pain from person to person. There is no way of knowing exactly what someones pain “feels like”.

You can keep up to date with the latest pain education material with the following:

Books for pain

1. Explain Pain: Lorimer Moseley and David Butler

2. Graded Motor Imagery Handbook: Butler, Moseley, Beames

3. Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP) by Michael Sullivan

4. Classification Based – Cognitive Functional Therapy by Peter O’Sullivan

5. Therapeutic Neuroscience Education: Adriaan Louw

Websites for pain

1. noigroup.com (A David Butler production)

2. bodyinmind.org (A Lorimer Moseley joint)

3. bettermovement.org

4. painscience.com (formerly saveyourself.ca)

5. bboyscience.com

6. gradedmotorimagery.com

7. dermoneuromodulation.com