Why do you have pain?
Obvious! You strained / damaged something so it hurts, right?
Yes and no, pain isn’t as straightforward as we initially thought.
Structural damage ≠ Pain.
Of course, if you've just sprained your ankle or broken a bone, you will experience pain.
But what if 12 months later the pain is still there?
Or what if NOTHING has happened, a body part just started to hurt randomly?
Pain = Damage?
Here's an interesting study to further confuse you about pain...
This study shown that more than 50% of people in their 30s have disc degeneration,
Yet all of these subjects in the studies have no pain whatsoever.
These youngsters all have real damage without pain!
So why am I in pain then?
Threat.
Bear with me here..
Pain is created by your brain in response to threat.
Here's a story you might be able to relate to.
Let’s say you had a bad fall years ago, landed on your butt. Very painful obviously, but you got back up... slowly.
What did you do first? You looked around to make sure no one saw you, of course.
Then comes the PAIN....
This might last a week or so... but then this is where it gets very interest...
LUCKY Scenario
You woke up one sunny morning and that was it, pain gone. Great!
UNLUCKY Scenario
Mornings after mornings, days after days, this pain just doesn’t shift no matter what you do.
Months or years later that pain has become a familiar feeling to you.
So what's going on there then?
Since that injury, your brain has 'installed' a protective mechanism in your buttocks area.
Every time you stretch / move / bend that area, your brain thinks you’re going to damage it again.
And in order to stop you from damaging yourself, your brain creates pain in that area to stop you from moving.
Much like a broken fire alarm in your house. It became so sensitive that even the toaster is enough to set it off.
Yes, pain is created within your brain, not ‘in your head’ in a psychological sense, but in a neurological sense.
It's actually a protective thing your brain is doing.
PAIN IS USEFUL, ESSENTIAL. YOU NEED IT TO SURVIVE!