Understanding more about persistent pain and what it is can help in thinking differently about it and living with it
Persistent pain is hard to live with – whether in yourself or others. It seems so unrelenting. But understanding what long-term pain is and learning to think about it differently can help lessen its impact.
What is persistent pain?
Persistent (or chronic) pain is pain that lasts longer than 3 months and doesn’t respond to medication or treatment. Its opposite is the acute pain we experience after injury or an operation. Acute pain usually goes away once we’ve recovered. If it doesn’t then it can turn into persistent pain.
Some people have persistent pain with no history of injury. Others have underlying injury or damage but no pain. And pain can be an integral part of a range of chronic conditions such as arthritis or fibromyalgia.
Pain and the brain
Initially pain is a warning signal that we’re under threat and we need to protect ourselves. But with persistent long-term pain our whole organism seems to stay on a higher level of alert than it needs to.
You should always consult a medical professional first. But with persistent pain that's become a long-term problem and doesn't respond to treatment, medication may be of limited help.
Instead, we need to actively re-train the brain. Our goal is to make the whole system less reactive to false alarms. We also need to acknowledge that the pain we feel might be an exaggerated response from within. It may not accurately represent what is actually happening in the body. We need to question and alter this perception.
Sensitivity rather than damage
In this kind of persistent pain, tissue damage is not the root cause. Recognising this can change how we perceive ourselves and our pain. If we are able to see pain as the result of a sensitive nervous system then we can take steps to reduce stress or calm ourselves down. Changing our perception of what's painful means we can start to try out activities we mayhave been avoiding.
Pain is complex and multi-dimensional
There are many factors at play with pain of this kind. It can be helpful to think of it in terms of three main areas (sometimes called the bio-psycho-social model of pain):
Bio: inflammation, damage, injury or physical changes
Psycho: your previous experiences, beliefs or emotions
Social: social relationships and other external environmental factors
What’s going on at any one time in these areas differs for everyone and will change over time. But we now understand long-term pain as something more than a purely physical reaction. It's affected by our stress and activity levels, our lifestyle, our beliefs and the kind of environment or social community we live in.
Each of us has a personal 'pain story'. It can be helpful to reflect back on what was happening at the time the pain developed or what's going on whenever it gets worse.
Reducing the impact of pain
How does the Alexander Technique fit into this understanding of pain? A clinical trial at a hospital outpatient NHS Pain Clinic in 2012 provided some answers. It showed that learning the Alexander Technique can be one part of the solution for people with long-term pain.
In the trial over half the participants were able to stop or reduce their medication thanks to a series of Alexander Technique lessons. The pain also appeared to have less impact on their daily lives. For some their perception of what their pain meant to them had changed.
From my experience the Alexander Technique can be effective because of its emphasis on a whole-person perspective. By calming the nervous system down it helps with the process of desensitisation. Increased self-awareness around habits and reactions is also important. And less strain and tension throughout the body would make someone less fearful of triggering pain and more confident in movement.
If persistent pain is part of your life and you’d like to see if learning the Alexander Technique could help I offer a FREE 30-minute Zoom consultation. You can talk me through your pain issues and we can discuss whether it could make a difference. There is no obligation to continue after the consultation.
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