Read Up on Pain Science

I recently bought a book called A Guide to BETTER MOVEMENT by Todd Hargrove.

 

The book is about movement (Ha, big shocker there), the nervous system’s effect on movement (we’re starting to realize that the brain has much more of an impact on force production, mobility restrictions, stiffness, etc. than previously thought), and strategies for improving how you move/feel/perform on a daily basis.

 

It’s fascinating, (can’t recommend it enough), and it’s challenged a lot of my previously-held beliefs in regards to movement dysfunction (if we can really call it that) and pain.

 

And speaking of pain – and although there’s a lot to be learned from every section of the book – that’s probably the one subject that the book challenged my understanding of the most.

 

The Models Are Changing

 

For awhile, I thought pain was solely due to structural damage, poor movement, or poor posture.

 

That’s what I’ve always been taught, that’s what the old models for treating pain used to suggest, and – up until this point – I’ve never considered the fact (even though I should have) that the nervous system had a major impact on acute and chronic pain.

 

But apparently, it does (which makes sense seeing as how the brain controls almost EVERYTHING), and although going in to a lot of detail on the matter is far outside the scope of this post – and the scope of a strength and nutrition coach – a few key points of interest were:

 

– “Pain is a conscious experience that requires a certain pattern of brain activity for it’s existence.”

 

– “Pain is an action signal, not a measurement of damage.”

 

– “Without the activation of a pain neurotag, there will be no pain, even if the body is damaged.  If a pain neurotag is activated, there will be pain, even if the body isn’t damaged at all.”

 

– “Pain neurotags are facilitated through repetition.  They can also become “wired” to other neurotags (e.g. for movement) if they frequently fire simultaneously.”

 

– “There is not a one-to-one correlation between tissue damage and pain.  Many people without pain show significant damage on MRIs.  On the other hand, many chronic pain conditions are characterized by hyperalgesia and/or allodynia, where stimuli that are normally non-painful cause pain.”

 

– “Pain is based on the perception of threat.  The processes that relay information about danger from the periphery to the brain are subject to error and miscommunication.  Thus, pain can be referred to an area that is not damaged.”

 

– “Chronic pain is associated with imprecise body maps and poor performance on tasks requiring proprioceptive acuity and body sense.  Sensory motor mismatch may be a mechanism for chronic pain.  Correcting it may be a treatment.”

 

This is just a small tidbit of information on the subject, and if you’re interested I highly recommend reading A Guide to BETTER MOVEMENT by Todd Hargrove, and the works of some of the leading researcher’s in the field of pain science (Ronald Melzack, Patrick Wall, David Butler, and Lorimer Mosley).

 

Should this information be taken as gospel?

 

No, probably not.

 

The mechanisms behind pain are extremely complicated, and although research on it has evolved over the last 50 years, there’s still a lot we don’t understand.

 

With that being said, it definitely provides some food for thought.

 

And seeing as how the old models for treating pain – the ones that solely focused on treating pain by trying to change structure, movement (this still appears to be a piece of the puzzle), or posture – are starting to become outdated, it’ll be interesting to see how the models for treating pain evolve from here.