Pain: The MindBody Connection
Written by Coach Sami
Have you ever been nervous or excited and felt butterflies in your stomach? Or maybe you’ve noticed that you tend to get headaches or digestive issues when you’re stressed? If you’ve ever experienced physical symptoms as a result of strong emotions, then you already know that humans have strong mind/body connections. Despite the fact that modern science has barely scratched the surface of what this connection means, the idea of a mindbody (or bodymind, if you prefer) has existed for ages. But before I jump into the science-y stuff, I’m going to outline the major episodes of my own pain journey. See if you notice a pattern.
2006–First “episode” right before high school graduation. I told everyone I “pulled my back” getting bucked off my horse (a very real possibility at the time, by the way). What really happened? It happened as I was pulling on my boots. Whomp whomp.
2012–”Pulled my back” while riding, the day before I hit the road with my parents to move all my stuff to Minnesota.
2016–Running on a treadmill. As was my routine, I went to a yoga class after my run and got stuck in Child’s Pose. True story. This happened right before I moved in with my partner.
2018–Started my first “big girl” job. Swings.
2020–Sometime during the pandemic. Barbell snatches.
2021–Sometime again during the pandemic (does one need more explanation than that?). Putting a pod in the dishwasher.
These are only the major episodes–crawling on the floor because you can't stand up episodes–not the lingering chronic pain that constantly puts you on edge, causing you to avoid anything that might cause a flare-up.
But before you start analyzing what I was doing when my “episodes” started–which were all things I’d done a million times before with no problems/pain, btw–take a look at how each major episode coincided with a big change or extra stress. Boom. Do you know how long it took me to figure this out? More than two decades.
I spent years and who knows how many dollars trying to fix my back. Doctors, chiropractors, masseuses, yoga, stretching, energy work, being voluntarily zapped with very strong electronic muscle stimulation currents (yes, really). Everything worked…temporarily. But then the pain would inevitably come back.
On a whim, I purchased a book on Amazon: Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by Dr. John Sarno. When he wrote this book back in the 90s, his contemporaries thought he was a bit nutty. And, if I’m honest, there are definitely some moments in his books that make me tilt my head a bit. But what resonated with me the most and what I hope resonates with you is that pain is processed in the brain.
Duh, Sami. I’m an educated human. I know that pain is processed in the brain.
But have you ever really thought about it? Have you ever considered this in relation to your chronic pain? Again, nobody is saying that the pain is imaginary. It is real and it really hurts. Those pain neurons are firing like a Gatling gun.
For the majority of people, however, this constant pain has less to do with physiological/mechanical issues than…you guessed it. Stress.
Consider this excerpt from Laura Baehr, PT’s blog post “Chronic Pain: It's More Than Mechanical”:
Everyday stressors have more of an impact on the body than most of us realize. Once stressors are identified, the brain begins to put the body into a state of fight or flight, causing real, physical effects in the body.
Over time, the brain and central nervous system learn to continue to put the body into a painful state, which repeats the pain cycle.
Still skeptical and want more sciency stuff? Check out the infographic below about pain and stress.
Now, I am not a medical doctor (although I am a soon-to-be PhD) so I ALWAYS recommend checking in with your doc to make sure that there are no red flag issues. After clearance from your doc, start thinking about how you can use the body and the mind for your own pain management and start integrating mindbody practices into your healing journey.
Oh, and don’t forget to keep moving!
-Coach Sami