Two Roads Diverged

Pain is very complex. Because of this there is no single solution for all pains. Pain, like a person, is a unique interwoven product of the body, mind, and spirit as well as your environment and community. When you truly start to look at chronic pain for what it is, I’m not sure how anyone can reasonably expect a medication or a surgery to unravel and repair the contributing roots of it. Ongoing research into effective pain management tools has narrowed in on key tools that are consistently shown to be helpful and effective - Education, Understanding, and Movement.

The Scrutinizer

In the April newsletter we introduced the concept that the pain we perceive can have no relationship to tissue damage. Particularly if normal tissue healing time frames have occurred and you are now experiencing what is considered to be chronic pain. The best way to begin to understand how this can be possible is to explore the history of pain theories. While some of you might find a historical recap unexciting it is important to learn more about our evolving understanding of pain.

The Pain Persona & Story

As we acknowledge ourselves to have a past, present, and future, so too should we acknowledge that pain has one as well. If we take the time to get to know it, where it was born, how it has grown, why it exists, we will begin to form a sense of understanding and from that platform compassion and empathy.