I have recently been on a course about pain and have been finding it a very interesting subject. So today I thought to share three things that I’ve found extra-interesting.
1.Pain is normal
Pain is a normal part of our life. No one will go through life without it, and actually, even if at first glance you wouldn’t think so, it’s good for us. Pain is a useful function that helps with our survival. It helps us change what we are doing to prevent injury.
2. Pain is produced by the brain
Information is sent to the brain about what is going on in the body and the brain produces the pain. So for example: body to brain: “I have run a lot further than last week and my pelvis isn’t moving correctly”. The brain thinks: “Oh no, if body keeps doing that then something might eventually break, let’s create some pain in the knee to make the body stop”.
Of course this is a simplification but the brain is making a decision on the information received from the body. It will also be using other information to come to this conclusion.
3. The level of pain doesn’t have a relationship with the extent of the injury
Think about it. How painful is a paper cut? And if you are running from a lion, your body won’t think much about that runner’s knee, will it? Your brain prioritises what is important for your survival. Therefore it is not an automatic assumption to think that excruciating pain means you have a major injury.
If you want to know more about pain, this is a really nice video you can watch.
Author: Lorna Wilson
Like what you see? Then send me a message or e-mail. We can meet up for a chat and find out how I can help you improve your training and help reduce injury risk.
06 460 377 74 / lorna@wilsonsworkouts.nl
