Beyond Pain Management: Overcoming Doubt and Information Overload
If you google pain management or pain relief techniques the internet is awash with ideas: physiotherapy, osteopathy, CBD, injections, meditation - the list goes on, and it’s overwhelming. This five-part blog series aims to be the antithesis of that. A simple, straightforward overview of what works, from someone who’s been there.
I know how overwhelming trying to get out of pain is and how easy it is to get frustrated and disheartened as I spent over a decade in this exact situation. By 2019 my daily existence had become marred by relentless, debilitating pain (you can read more about how I got into that situation here). Despite pouring thousands into visits to physio, chiropractors, osteos, and various therapies, none of which were covered by insurance, I found little respite. No pain management techniques or traditional pain relief approaches were working.
If you’re reading this now maybe you’re in the same situation.
Hopeless, frustrated, and with no clarity about what does and doesn’t work for your pain. You’ve tried all the techniques, and all the advice and it doesn’t work. There is just you and the pain. It has become your life.
I’d like to be able to tell you that there is a one-size-fits-all solution to pain. That in this blog I’m going to reveal the magic bullet for pain recovery.
Unfortunately, pain doesn’t work like that.
Pain recovery isn’t simple - but it doesn’t have to be complex either. Dare I say it can even be enjoyable? Maybe even transformative?
Recovering More Than Your Health - The Pain Recovery Journey
Recovering from pain can take you on a journey to not just recovering from pain, but moving and feeling better than you ever have. Through my own pain recovery journey I have developed more self-understanding, compassion, and awareness that has enhanced my life in ways I would never have dreamed of when I started this journey.
Pain is hard, but it’s also an opportunity to wake up to your true self and what it means to be a living, breathing human. By tuning into an expanded awareness, you can move toward greater ease and meet your needs. In this way, life becomes not just freer from pain, but far richer in attunement and sensitivity to yourself and others.
Maybe that seems farfetched right now. Maybe you even feel like your pain is worse than the sort of pain I’m talking about and this doesn’t apply to you. The doubt and frustration are starting to creep in again. You’re ready to shut this window and write me off as another snake oil charlatan trying to sell you their program, their method, their magic solution.
That’s fine. It’s even natural for a body and mind that has been dealing with chronic pain for so long. But you don’t have to believe that. I’m not here to convince you of anything.
But what if you didn’t have to believe every thought and pain signal that you experience? What if instead you could believe in your natural capacity to heal, and approach your pain journey instead with a sense of openness, and curiosity? With no expectation of outcome.
Almost like an experiment.
Instead of thinking what if this doesn’t work, think - what do you have to lose? What can you learn?
Adopting Shoshin - Beginner’s Mind
In Zen Buddhism, you’ll find the concept of “Shoshin” - or beginner’s mind. There are three basic tenets: open-mindedness, eagerness to learn, and lack of preconceptions.
Having the right attitude towards your pain and adopting this mindset isn’t something “woo”. In physiotherapy “yellow flags”, such as unhelpful beliefs about pain, expectations of poor treatment outcomes, worry, and distress, have been clinically proven¹ to worsen outcomes.
So instead I invite you to cultivate shoshin during this process. Forget everything you know and try and approach your recovery journey with fresh eyes and no expectations. Frame your journey as an exploration of yourself and get excited about what you might discover. Let go of what has and hasn’t worked in the past - or what you think will or not want. Trust your experience instead.
The Foundations of Pain Recovery
DISCLAIMER: Before we begin please remember this isn’t medical advice. Consult your doctor about your pain first.
Tuning into your own experience with something like “Shoshin” means musculoskeletal pain doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Your pain provides feedback and allows any treatment to be tailored to you.
That said, after over a decade of working with pain and my work with clients, personalised approaches within five key categories seem to work for most people, including myself and my coachees - as long as they’re approached with the experimental, beginner’s mindset we’ve talked about.
Working out a personalised recovery plan which integrates these five categories typically yields the best results for individuals with complex, persistent muscle and joint aches and pains.
In this blog series, I’ll cover each section in this pyramid. In doing so I hope I can provide you with the clarity and simplicity I craved when I first started my journey to get out of pain. You can navigate to each post in the series here:
1 - Mindset & Psychology
Pain science and psychological interventions for self-empowerment
2 - Posture
Structural alignment for everyday ease
3 - Mindful Movement
Intentional, aware attitude to functional movement and exercise.
4 - Complementary Medicine
Approaches like acupuncture and supplements that work alongside standard medical care.
5 - Medication and Medical Procedures
Standard medical approaches such as painkillers and operations
Who Do You Want on Your Team Right Now?
Pain recovery is complex, and no two journeys are the same. Every individual’s path to healing is unique, which is why it's essential to have the right support in place. A team of pain-informed professionals (one might be enough) can help guide you through this process, working with you to create a personalised recovery plan that addresses your specific needs and supports you every step of the way.
When you're reading through this guide, ask yourself: who do you want on your team right now?
Your team could include a variety of medical and holistic professionals—people like medical doctors (anaesthetists, rheumatologists, surgeons), pain coaches, and complementary therapists. This might mean physiotherapists, osteopaths, occupational therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, Alexander Technique practitioners, dieticians, nurse specialists and even social workers and rehabilitation therapists.
It’s not about having a big team or making sure everyone is collaborating all the time which is usually unfeasible. It’s about understanding what you’ve tried so far, what’s worked, and where there’s room to build on that.
In my experience, the Alexander Technique combined with pain coaching often help unlock the potential of physiotherapy and other hands-on therapies, creating more space for recovery and healing. There may be other combinations of treatments that will work for you. This kind of insight, based on real experience, can make a huge difference in finding the right path forward for you.
Where to start?
As you explore the five areas above, you might wonder if there’s a specific order to tackle them or if you should read all the sections first.
My suggestion is to start by reviewing each area to get a broad understanding, then decide which resonates most or where you feel some quick wins can be made. Often, we gravitate toward the areas we think will be most useful, but remember not to discount the ones that seem less useful right away, or haven’t worked in the past — they may surprise you. Remember “Shoshin.” Drop preconceived notions and approach each one with an explorer’s mindset. What could you learn if you opened yourself up to these areas without bias?
If you’d rather have someone to do the work for you and take out some of the guesswork, then please get in contact with me to discuss how I can help create a personalised Pain Recovery Plan for you, and support you on each step of your journey You can also book a free 15-minute call here.
REFERENCES
- Nicholas MK, Linton SJ, Watson PJ, Main CJ; "Decade of the Flags" Working Group. Early identification and management of psychological risk factors ("yellow flags") in patients with low back pain: a reappraisal. Phys Ther. 2011 May;91(5):737-53. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20100224. Epub 2011 Mar 30. PMID: 21451099.
