Pain: “I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means”

What does the Princess Bride have to do with pain? Well, nothing, but there is nothing like a good Princess Bride quote to brighten the day.

A couple of months ago I was in Copenhagen, taking in the sights, doing the tourist thing. After about an hour, I noticed that my low back was bothering me.  But, I knew that I had it not actually hurt my back.  Instead, it was just my body’s way of getting my attention that something else was wrong.  How do I know this?

Because I know that pain lives in the brain. And you do, too.

You have probably heard the stories about something called “phantom limb pain.” It’s one of those “this makes no sense” stories about how an amputated limb can still be hurting – even years later. Or, this story about how a nail went through the shoe, missed the foot, but was still incredibly painful. In both cases, the brain is interpreting something that isn’t there as pain. It’s a little something that Z-Health calls “signals and interpretations.”

What was going on with my back is really no different than the phantom limb pain or the nail through the shoe. I was tired, jet-lagged, and frankly hadn’t been moving enough past couple of days prior. So, I knew that for me all I needed was a little bit of mobility work. Fortunately, I know what my happy drills are, so I stopped on the street, did a couple of those, and my back pain instantly went away.

What about YOUR pain?

You are one of those people and has a “trick knee,” chronic low back pain, a weird left hip, or regular headaches, right?  Yes, you may have an old injury there, but that injury healed long, long ago. At this point, that is simply an area that we call “practiced pain.” Pain, just like everything else, is a skill. So, when your body needs your attention, it goes to the body part it know you will listen to the fastest. You can kind of think of it as the batphone from your brain to your body. Sneaky, huh?

I mention headaches, and that may have gotten your attention. Because unless someone hit you upside the head with a baseball bat, there’s no real good reason for your head to hurt. So, what do you think a headache is? Practiced pain.  This study done at Boeing showing that the only commonality between the people in the study with low back pain was that they all hated their jobs. That should give you pause.

So what can you do about it?

Since pain is your body’s way of getting your attention, pay attention. It may be telling you:

• It’s time to eat
• It’s time to sleep
• It’s time to take a break
• It’s time to get up and move
• Or, even, it’s time to quit your job

I tends to fall in the camp of movement solves most problems, much like eating your veggies and getting enough sleep. So, my suggestion to you would be to get up and move more.

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