Beginning to Understand Pain

Pain isn’t all in your head. But it’s not all just in your body either. Understanding and conquering pain comes with getting comfortable with the gray areas.

First, let’s talk about what happens when we experience pain. We have endings on nerve cells called nociceptors. These are always on, sensing what’s going on! But often our brain ignores them when they are sensing “normal”. When we get injured, our brain understandably perceives what the nociceptors sense as pain. But as time passes, our bodies and brains can end up remaining in a heightened state and perceive regular sensations as pain.

Our nociceptors and our brains think they are being helpful, but sometimes they are being “overbearing”. You may perform a routine swing or jump that isn’t harming the body, but you may still experience pain. This can be a bit paradoxical and super frustrating, but there is a bright side! You can safely prove to your body over time that it does not need to perceive regular sensations as pain as well as that it does not need to fear pain.

It is a long process and takes some work. But you can conquer your pain! This post only has a very condensed explanation of pain and nociception, so let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!