Discover The Missing Link to Pain Relief

Do you seem to get so far in recovering from an injury where the pain gets better, and then....it comes back or just refuses to go away completely?

It's soooo frustrating and annoying isn't it? It's like, you're missing something but, for the love of god, you can't seem to find THE thing that makes the pain go away so you can enjoy ALL the things you love again.

Most people try to fix the place where they feel the pain, so they see doctors, physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors and massage therapists. They buy painkillers, supplements, wraps, supports, stretch programmes and pain relief tools that promise to take away their pain.....but the pain is still there!

If this is you, here's what you're missing:

"Muscles are the slave of the nervous system" (David McGettigan)

This means that if you retrain the nervous system, you change how your muscles behave.

A common factor in persistent or recurring pain is acquired muscle tension. When you talk about your muscles feeling tight, tense, sore or weak you're describing muscle behaviour. Therefore change this, and you can reduce your pain!

Muscle behaviour is influenced by the physiological health of the muscle cells, the immune system (inflammation), and the nervous system. 

Your brain and nervous system help you to interact with your environment (external and internal). One of their vital functions is to protect you from potential threats to your safety, and this is one of the keys to unlocking your path out of pain.

Your brain responds to stress or possible danger by adopting 1 of 3 stress reflexes.

Thomas Hanna described these as:

• The Green Light (Go-Go-Go) reflex = 'Fight or flight' reaction
• The Red Light (Startle) reflex = Deep protection, foetal posture
• The Trauma reflex = Protection from a side trauma or injury

These are natural reactions to stress, and you'll move in and out of all 3 reflexes several times during your day without any long lasting ill effects.

But what happens if one of these reflexes becomes activated very frequently?

Well, your brain becomes very good at what it does over and over. Repetition and practice are how we learn new skills - think about you learned to play a new sport, musical instrument or drive a car. After enough practice you do the movements automatically, without having to think about them. 

So if a stress reflex is activated repeatedly the brain learns to be ready to do that action. 

Now it becomes an involuntary action, ie. you're no longer aware that you're doing it. What you do notice, however, is the consequences of repeating that reflex   - muscle behaviour like fatigue, soreness, tension, tightness, stiffness, guarding etc.

Read on to see how these stress reflexes contributed to pain for 2 of my class members, even if the initial injury had healed.

1) Persistent Foot Pain

A 5th metatarsal (little toe) fracture in the summer of 2023 healed without complications, but the foot has remained sore ever since. 

This member described the pain as like a strong cramp along the outside of her foot. It was stopping her from walking her dogs, and ruining her enjoyment of her favourite fitness classes.

When we examined her right foot it was evident that it had become stuck in deep protection mode - the inside arch was lifted higher than the left side, making the foot appear short and claw-like.

Her nervous system had responded to the injury by telling the muscles to contract, making the foot more rigid and immobilising the fracture. However it didn't tell the muscles to revert back to their original state when the fracture healed - this isn't uncommon when recovery takes several weeks.

We started retraining her nervous system to un-contract the muscles and restore her foot to it's original shape by:

• reorganising her toe lines using a wooden dowel 
• consciously relaxing and lowering her inner arch and lengthening her big toe

She felt instant relief in her right foot. These changes will be short-lived at first, but with repetition they'll stick around for longer and longer. A few days later she reported that her foot was already feeling more comfortable than it had for months.

2) Shoulder pain

This member developed an unpleasant shoulder pain a couple of days after being caught between 2 lift doors! She's feeling the pain around the inside edge of her left shoulder blade, with tingling in her fingers and some neck tightness. She hasn't been able to drive or do her favourite fitness classes since the incident.

Bending her elbows like she's holding the steering wheel of her car or the handlebars of her spin bike, instantly triggers her pain - so annoying!

This is an unusual accident, and her nervous system has protected her from being potentially crushed by locking her ribcage, making it a super stiff and strong structure - essentially a version of the side Trauma Reflex.

We've started the process of retraining her nervous system by:

• Using a side lying twist and the Side Bend exercise to show her brain that it's safe to relax her trunk muscles and release her ribs so they can move freely again. 
• Realigning the atlas and axis vertebrae of her neck - these can shift in response to stress and strong emotional states, like fear or anxiety.

The ribs, shoulder blade and neck have a close relationship, so when addressing pain in one, it's important to include exercises for the other two as well.

She was able to bend her elbows without pain immediately after these exercises.

The next morning she tried a spin class, doing the above exercises before coming into the studio. After the class she reported some discomfort, but nothing major.

Again these improvements should stick around for longer and longer if she keeps practicing these exercises, and embedding them into her nervous system.

If you're struggling to get rid of a persistent or recurring pain, retraining your nervous system to change how your muscles are behaving is often the missing link you've been searching for.

The key is choosing the most effective exercises for your nervous system and body. I've found that most people need only 1 to 3 exercises to make significant improvements to their pain and movement.

NEXT STEPS

• Book into a Stretch, Yoga or Pilates class with me - these are a good introduction to The Befriend Your Body (BYB) Method for pain relief.
• Attend a mind-body retreat - these are deeply relaxing, fun, social small group experiences typically held in various locations within easy reach of Worthing, West Sussex. The next retreat is  on Sunday 24th March. Click HERE for all the details.
• ** BOOKINGS NOW OPEN ** New 60 mins pop-up classes. One class a month, a different theme each month, Click HERE to see the class schedule and reserve your place. April's pop-up is "The Befriend Your Body (BYB) Method for pain relief".
• Subscribe HERE to receive "The Movement Chronicle", a weekly e-newsletter delivering mobility and pain reduction tips directly into your inbox every Monday morning,

If you would like support with managing pain or an injury please reach out to me on any of these channels:

• Email at norma@unicornhealthandfitness.com
• DM me on Facebook Messenger 
• WhatsApp message to 07801 867361.

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