Do you allow time to understand your body's signals?

Hunger. Check. 🍽

Thirst. Check. 🥛

Urge to visit the bathroom. Check. 🚽

These are all signals that we have learned to acknowledge and act on in our lives.

Pain. Hmmm. 😩

What is the pain signal trying to tell me?

Do I allow time to understand the body's pain signal(s)?

Here is the thing.

Most of us have a good understanding of what needs to happen with hunger, thirst and bathroom breaks. We usually don't know what to do about our pain.

It stops us in our tracks.

Do we rest? Do we stretch? Do we apply heat or cold? Should I take a medication and which one?

So when I saw this diagram below, it made me think, I need to share this with my community! It will help us unpack the signal of pain a bit more. Thanks to Pete Egoscue. In this book, Pain Free, he shares the cycle of movement (what I call it) and how it relates to your pain.

The cycle goes like this. If we can't meet the demands of the stimulus, we adapt. That adaptation allows us to move. If we consistently rely on the adaptation to move, compensation creates persistent imbalance. Such imbalance impacts our ability to respond to subsequent stimuli, and the cycle starts anew.

Pain begins to creep in when the adaptation and compensation no longer serves us. Because adaptations are neither good nor bad. They can help us out for a period of time or not.

The body might very well be saying, "thanks jaw for clenching when I climb the stairs but its not your job to move me up the stairs".

Maybe the signal of jaw pain is actually related to your struggle to climb a flight a stairs.

I know.

It sounds weird.

However, our bodies adapt to what demands we put on them.

And the way we respond (adaptations) are not always appropriate and can lead to a built in pattern of compensations.

Insight to Action:

Start to notice the stimulus' in your life. Heck, make a list of them that you do on a regular basis.

Then begin to notice any adjustments your body needs to make to meet the demand of the stimulus.

Overtime, is your body responding with a balanced or imbalanced approach? AND what is the associated pain trying to tell you?

It takes work to truly be aware to what your pain signals are.

Have you ever heard of different types of pain? Does that drive you mad to have someone ask you what type of pain you are feeling? All you want to say is, "its pain!".

This is where YOU have the ability to start to scan your signals and really decide (in your own mind) what the signals mean to you.

Need help to move the way your body needs and build your awareness to the signals your body gives you? Respond directly to this email and let's chat! I would be honoured to help.

Stay well and happy moving (while noticing your pain signals),

Lisa

P.S., In case you missed last week's email, it was a goody! Click here to read more about your pain signals and what you can do about it!