News: February 2025

Is Your Pain Spreading? It might be your neighbor's fault ...

Isn't it lovely when all is well, your mind is clear, and you get a great night's sleep? Well, imagine a house a few doors down the street from you is broken into. How well are the owners of that house sleeping? And what about their next door neighbors, once they learn of the break-in? When the news reaches you, are you still peacefully slumbering?

My guess is you're not. You are probably on high alert, attuned to any sounds, checking that all the doors are locked, upgrading your alarm system, making sure plenty of lights are on to show that you're home, watching the local news to find out if there have been other break-ins, and scouring the internet for more ways to protect yourself and your house. Even though you were not directly affected by the break-in, you have certainly been impacted.

You might be surprised to learn that chronic pain is a lot like a neighborhood break-in. The onset of pain (injury, surgery, accident, etc.) is the break-in. One in four people feel pain even after the damaged tissues have healed, and the pain becomes chronic. This is because the brain continues to perceive a threat, causing the nervous system - our alarm system - to be highly sensitized.

This doesn't only impact the affected part of your body. The "neighbors" are shaken up as well. Say you have chronic wrist pain. Over time, you might notice the pain "spread" to the elbow or the shoulder. Contrary to what many believe, this does not necessarily indicate further injury. Rather, the "neighbors" are now on high alert. In addition to spreading pain, you might feel pain on the opposite side of your body, be highly sensitive to touch, and have increased fatigue.

So how do we get the neighborhood to calm down? The good news is, you've already begun the process! Simply understanding more about how pain works can lessen the perceived threat to the nervous system. As the alarm calms down, the pain gradually eases. We'll explore more ways to quiet an extra-sensitive nervous system in future newsletters. Education is therapy!

Source: Adriaan Louw and Kory Zimney, Pain Neuroscience Education
Image by Freepik

Release the Past: Self-Massage for Emotional Healing

We tend to hold onto painful experiences from our past, sometimes without even realizing it. The thoughts and emotions born from these experiences live in our bodies, showing up over time as physical sensations like pain or tightness, or as emotional reactivity, e.g. anger, guilt, defensiveness. But holding onto the past prevents us from being fully present in the here and now, and robs us of the joy life has to offer.

In this video, we use self-massage, stretching, self-compassion, and self-kindness to gently free ourselves from difficult past experiences that we've stored in the body. We invite ourselves to let go of the narratives we attach to these experiences, and the emotions they trigger.

Make this a daily practice and discover the freedom that comes with releasing the past.