By in Osteopathy

How Understanding MSK Pain Can Help The Individual Experience

Research into the human pain experience has progressed hugely in the last 20 years or so and our understanding of pain has obviously improved because of that research, however, this hasn’t necessarily helped with the management of people with persistent MSK pain.

Pain is a complicated neuro-physiological process based on our nervous system’s perception of threat. However, experiencing pain in certain circumstances is essential and an evolutionarily beneficial lifesaving process, but it is obviously an unpleasant experience.

In my opinion, experience is a good way of describing it, as we all experience things differently depending on our own perception of the event. The same thing can happen to 10 different individuals and yet their experiences and responses will be different. From enjoying a movie, or hating it, to our music taste, or our susceptibility to road rage, we all respond to our environment uniquely and our experience of pain is no different.

It’s not that pain can be enjoyable to some (sadomasochists do not enjoy pain but find the context in which the stimulus is applied arousing. Research has shown that they experience pain more normally when the sexual context is removed), but our response to a stimulus that hurts can be hugely different from one individual to another.

Like the emotional context of road rage, or conflict at work or home, some people are calm and others react more strongly, some get angry and others get upset, some are loud and shout while others become more introverted and hide away. This is the same with pain, in that it is our own perception of what is going on that determines the level of pain and suffering we experience. The individual perception of our own pain then determines our response to the experience.

I hope that makes some kind of sense to you because I believe that when people in pain understand why they hurt, they deal with the pain experience in a far more positive way and tend to recover far quicker than those that hide away.

It is so rewarding for me when I am able to help patients understand their own pain and help with strategies to control their pain and get their life back on track. Reliance on pain medications can be better managed, and quality of life improves. Low back pain, neck pain, knee pain, or any MSK pain.

If you are struggling with intense pain or even just an irritating niggle, then I would be honored to help you on the journey to better control your pain. Please get in touch to discuss a convenient time to meet and start your journey to pain relief. We offer treatment to help with MSK pain at The Body Matters. Call us on 01702 714968 for more information.

This article was written by Matthew Oliver M.Ost DO ND. Osteopath.

Louise
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