How to understand pain

What is pain?

Pain is a sensation that originates in the brain. The brain is responsible for informing us that there is a problem in the body through the sensation of pain. Even though the damage or problem may only be a potential threat, our brain will send signals to our body to feel the pain and start protecting ourselves. This means that we can feel pain even without actual tissue damage. When the brain does not create a sensation of pain even though there is actual tissue damage, it is called the 'pain paradox'. This means that the pain we feel may not always indicate the true severity of the problem or clearly identify the location of our problem, if any.

How to get rid of it?

If we listen to our bodies enough, pain can be very useful and helpful to us – it lets us know that something is wrong with us. Maybe we are pushing ourselves too hard or moving incorrectly. Maybe we have an injury or illness that we need to be careful with to give the body enough room to heal and prevent secondary damage. So pain can tell us which path to take so that it can heal.

For some of us, the pain persists even after the initial injury has healed, or may even spread to other areas of the body where no injury occurred. This pain becomes useless and uninformative because the pain itself becomes our main problem. Then the brain learns to persist in the pain, just as it does when it becomes accustomed to or learns anything else.

The brain is neuro-plastic, easily adaptable. It allows us to learn new things and sensations depending on how much we focus on them. When we pay attention to something, for example, we learn to read and write, but on the other hand, the feeling of our pain can also worsen if we focus on it too much. That is why it is important to pay attention to positive things - what helps us, what makes us feel good, moments when we feel happy, things for which we are grateful. Simply put, being positive in itself will help us heal.

Scientists have studied the effects of chiropractic spinal manipulation and found that they may also have an impact on brain function.

Chiropractic as a Pain Relief Treatment

Chiropractic care helps with neuroplasticity in the brain, especially in the prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain where pain becomes chronic. For these reasons, chiropractic care can catch acute pain early and prevent chronic pain.

A chiropractor does not always manipulate the spine and other parts of the body at the exact point of pain. Instead, they look for areas that lack proper mobility and may be causing blockages elsewhere in the body. For example, a chiropractor may not even touch your knee, but they will adjust the range of motion and function of your cervical spine and pelvis because they see that the movement in these joints is incorrect. You may then feel relief from your knee pain because the rest of your body is functioning more efficiently.

Let's not forget that pain is a sensation generated by our brain and this does not mean that the pain is not always in the same place as the real problem. Chiropractic care helps the brain respond to what is happening in our body, thus improving communication between the brain and the body.