Greetings, Reader!
Last week, I shared about the three-step process the nervous system uses to produce pain:
- The nervous system receives sensory input from the body.
- The nervous system processes that information to determine whether it is dangerous or safe.
- If the nervous system detects a potential threat, it sends an output signal in the form of pain*.
(*The output can manifest as physical pain, digestive issues, anxiety, sleep disturbance, brain fog, executive dysfunction, overwhelm, etc. I use the word pain to encompass all signs of nervous system distress.)
When we are experiencing pain, the nervous system becomes sensitive and starts to send more sensory input up to the central nervous system for review.
At the same time, the nervous system becomes more fearful of the information it is receiving, and more likely to interpret it as dangerous.
This increases the output of pain, and becomes a self-reinforcing cycle.
Most treatments for pain focus on the output (i.e. what hurts), which may provide temporary relief, but if you don't address the root causes, the nervous system keeps generating pain.
If you want to prevent pain from being generated in the first place, you have to address why you hurt by changing the input and processing.
The Solution to Chronic Pain
Here is the basic formula for treating the root causes of pain:
Step 1: Change the Input
- Replace danger cues with safety cues.
- Interrupt the pain pathway with novel and positive sensory input.
Step 2: Change the interpretation
- Reduce sensitivity and vigilance.
- Deepen presence and build the capacity to experience sensation without fear.
Step 3: The outputs change organically
- Pain equals sensation plus fear.
- When the nervous system feels safe again, it no longer has to sound the pain alarm and you can engage with the world again instead of defend against it.
A Real Life Example
So what does that actually look like in real life? This is an example from a client who we'll call Erika (story used with permission).
Don't worry, this story has a happy ending.
Erika had back pain for almost 30 years. When we met, she told me that she didn't remember the last time she had a pain-free day.
Sometimes her pain was so bad that she wasn't able to work. It had cost her jobs and relationships, and deeply impacted her mental and emotional health.
Erika was so afraid of making the pain worse that she limited her activity and stopped doing most of the things she loved. Pain occupied all of her brain space. She became reluctant to make plans with friends because she simply couldn't muster the energy, and her world became smaller and smaller until she was pretty isolated.
She had been seeing a chiropractor for years. She tried orthopedic physical therapy, massage, and other healers. She was on pretty heavy doses of medication, but it wasn't managing her pain. She was considering having surgery because nothing else was working.
Erika took my pain program, and by the end of the course, she had stopped taking medication, gone back to work full time, and was able to start playing the piano again, which brought her great joy. Erika started consistently having pain-free days for the first time in decades.
Pain no longer controls her life.
Here's how she regained her freedom:
- For years, every time she felt a sensation in her back, Erika was terrified that she had damaged something. When she realized that pain is an output, not an input, she stopped being afraid of the pain. She points to this shift in consciousness as being the most important point in her healing journey.
- Erika did an audit of her daily activities and realized that so many of the things she was doing to avoid pain were sending danger cues to her nervous system. She made an intentional choice to prioritize rest and nourishment, and to help her nervous system feel safe again.
- After experimenting with different neuro-somatic practices, she found two sensory practices that were effective at reducing pain in the moment and in creating a new sensory pathway. The first was humming while gently stimulating the auricular branch of the vagus nerve in her ear. The second was practicing abhyanga, which is an Ayurvedic self-massage practice. She found the oil to be grounding and nourishing, and the healing touch helped her redevelop a positive relationship with her body. She did these practices regularly to provide positive sensory input to her nervous system.
- In the pain program, Erika learned how to be present with sensation without fear using a combination of somatic exercises and yoga practices, such as body scans and alternate nostril breathing. Now when she feels a sensation in her back, she doesn't freak out. She knows that sensation is just a sensation, and she is able to experience it with presence and not protection.
- Erika's pain was activated by movement. Gradually, Erika started reintroducing gentle movement in a safe container. She was prepared for sensation to increase when she increased her activity because her nervous system was sensitive to movement, so she practiced pacing, and she used her new tools to help her increase her tolerance and slowly build back her activity.
Erika's x-rays still show arthritis and degenerative changes, but she no longer has debilitating pain. We didn't treat the structure of her body at all, but we did change the inputs and her relationship to the pain, which decreased her perception of threat and turned down the volume of the pain alarm so significantly that she was able to regain control of her life.
An Invitation
If you are struggling with pain, I'd love to teach you how to orient to safety, accurately interpret your sensory experience, and build your capacity to respond from a place of presence rather than protection.
In my upcoming Break the Pain Cycle program, you'll learn how to rewire your nervous system and transform:
- Vigilance into presence
- Fear into safety
- Defensiveness into resilience
The next cohort begins on Thursday, March 12th and meets virtually every other week through June 18th from 5:00 - 7:00 pm.
Payment plans are available. You'll have the option to pay in full, or in four installments, via the booking link below.
If you need more personalized nervous system support, I also offer three and six month 1:1 immersions to help you rewire your nervous system and get your life back.
If you are curious about working together 1:1 or joining the group program but you have questions, please schedule a free Nervous System Attunement Strategy Session. You'll get clear on what your nervous system needs and what is keeping you stuck, and we can develop a customized plan to get you the support you need.
Questions are also always welcome via email. Feel free to reply and let me know what resonated and what questions came up for you.
In love and solidarity,
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Rachel
Doctor of Physical Therapy & Integrative Pain Specialist
Build a resilient nervous system to help you flow through the seasons of your life with courage, wisdom, and compassion.
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SPRING QIGONG STARTS TOMORROW!
As we transition into the year of the fire horse and into the spring season, we will need courage, boundaries, and discernment in order to take purposeful action and prevent burnout.
We'll be working with the wood element and the liver and gallbladder channels to support aligned growth. We'll also be exploring some of the dragon forms, which are so powerful and heart-centered. Dragons in TCM are benevolent protectors, and they channel rage as an act of love.
I hope you will consider joining us. Register for the full series, or for individual classes, via this link.
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Invitations to Work Together
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