Online Recovery Programme Session 17
Welcome to your Practitioner Recommended Session
From Pain Relief to Pain Release
Before you get going, watch this short video message from Elaine.
Follow the link to listen to the audio version of session 17:
Elaine Story
The "standard" definition used for pain is that of the International Association for the Study of Pain:
"An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Pain is always subjective. Each individual learns the application of the word through experiences related to injury in early life.
It is unquestionably a sensation in a part of the body, but it is also unpleasant, and therefore also an emotional experience. Many people report pain in the absence of tissue damage or any likely pathophysiological cause; usually this happens for psychological reasons.
There is no way to distinguish their experience from that due to tissue damage, if we take this subjective report".
(IASP Pain 1979(6)249-252, ex Shipton, 1993)
Welcome to our session on pain
It defies belief, doesn’t it, that you can be in bed or on the sofa day after day resting and pacing yourself and yet you feel like you have run a marathon carrying 2 sacks of bricks?
You may have developed tender spots so painful that you can’t bear any one to touch or hold you and have been told that you have fibromyalgia.
Whatever it is for you, it is distressing when your body is in pain and it doesn’t relate to an injury or something tangible that you can pinpoint.
When you relay this information to a doctor, of course their first concern is to check it is nothing life threatening, then beyond that their job is to relieve both your symptoms and your suffering.
‘I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.’
- Excerpt from ‘Hippocratic Oath’ taken by doctors when they train.
Elaine says:
"Doctors often get heavily criticised in their approach to the treatment of M.E. and Fibromyalgia. I was probably one of the harshest critics of the dismissive approach of many of the people I saw and frankly furious at the inference that I was simply depressed.
What I have come to understand now that I can be a little more objective, was that they are trained to alleviate suffering and they generally have only 10 minutes per appointment allocated to try to help you.
I remember in the early days grappling with all these symptoms and how desperate I was for an explanation. I was convinced my doctor would look at me and say ‘Ah yes you have contracted a virus called x and this is what will happen and the reason you are in pain is because .... and we can do this, this and this.'
It never happened. I always left the surgery feeling I had wasted my time after trying to explain in 10 minutes ‘that my life has been decimated and the person you see before you is just a shell of who she was.’
One of my doctors used to start to sweat when I walked in!
One day my friend Louise [a nurse] came with me and insisted I was referred to a specific neurologist outside of my primary care trust who had an interest in M.E.
She did all the battling for me as at this point I felt very weak. Eventually after months of waiting, testing and scanning the doctor shrugged.
I had my diagnosis but was back to square one. The symptoms were worse; I was still having migraines and muscle and joint pain and was being sent home to rest: angry, frustrated and crestfallen, hoping it would go away miraculously at some point in the future.
Still, I was prepared to do anything, so I bought a book called Teach Yourself to Meditate by Eric Harrison and it was one of the best things I ever did, because my mind was so wired and confused that I didn’t think I would ever be able to get it to be still.
I don’t sit on a rock cross legged, but I do go into deep states of relaxation and I can clear my mind. In the exercises this week there are some different ways for you to create deep relaxation in your body and mind.
It took a bit of time to get going with my meditation but the thing that pushed me to persevere with it was when I understood the why and how of meditation.
This made all the difference to me, so before we get into the ‘how to meditate’, let’s remind ourselves of the reasons 'why we need to meditate' which we will explore in the next module.
What is Pain?
Research
Eventually the penny drops that no one is going to knock on the door and say: 'guess what! Here is the answer!'
So, as long as you have been thoroughly checked out by your doctor and have taken any relevant advice, that’s where the research starts and we move from victim mode to an empowered state.
You have done exactly that, so take a moment to recognise your progress.
You have moved into that phase of recovery where you are taking responsibility for your journey to regain health.
The Knowledge
Learning about what pain actually is will help us to understand why the doctors offer pain relief, rather than what we actually want, which is pain release.
There are 2 types of pain - Acute and Chronic.
Acute Pain
This is the kind of pain associated with injury or tissue damage like a broken bone or appendicitis and this pain will usually go when the stimulus of the pain is removed.
You can have surgery or immobilise the bone and the body will heal.
Chronic Pain
The difficulty with the kind of pain associated with long term conditions is that it is classified as chronic pain and is more complicated to deal with.
Chronic pain may be caused by the body's response to acute pain. In the presence of continued stimulation of nociceptors, changes occur within the nervous system.
Changes at the molecular level are dramatic and may include alterations in genetic transcription of neurotransmitters and receptors. These changes may also occur in the absence of an identifiable cause; one of the frustrating aspects of chronic pain is that the stimulus may be unknown.
- Julia Barrett
Doesn’t help much does it? Or does it?
The intriguing bit is when it talks about the stimulus being ‘unknown’. So something is causing the pain - it’s just that we don’t know what it is.
The Causes of Fibromyalgia
The word Fibromyalgia was a new word to me. We recommend you throw away the books about M.E. that talk about ‘symptom management’ - they should be renamed 100 ways to stay ill!
What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition affecting around 2% of the population in developed countries. Patients experience widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, often to a disabling degree, as well as many other distressing symptoms.
There are many people who are reading these definitions and taking them as fact. We believe it is always a dangerous thing when you are told something is chronic.
There are an astounding 1.8 million searches for Fibromyalgia alone on Google every month!
And this is what is found on our Google search:
"The pain is often worse in the morning, improves throughout the day, and worsens at night. It can be experienced as aching, throbbing, burning or migratory (moving around the body). It is common for patients to also experience muscle tightness, soreness and spasms. It is diagnosed by testing 11 – 18 tender points on the body."
If you are like me I immediately started pressing bits of me and those bits really did hurt. When your body is ill all over it's hard to find a bit that doesn’t hurt.
What would happen if the definition that people found said that this was a temporary condition that can be overcome effectively?
Look at this astounding figure of how many people are searching for help with Fibromyalgia!
When we are in a low state and already anxious, reading that you have a chronic problem can be enough for us to buy in to the idea that we are stuck with it permanently.
This is another stress trigger.
We already know the inflammatory effect cortisol has inside our body when we are under long term stress. Add to that the immobility of chronic fatigue and we get a stagnant system which causes us even more pain.
In this week’s recovery story you will hear from Liz who was in such severe pain she could not even hug her children. She is now pain free and very active.
So what causes the pain of fibromyalgia?
According to researchers there are many contributory factors that may trigger pain and each person may have a combination of any of the following:
Trauma
- Physical injury by violence or accident
- An emotional wound leading to psychological injury
- An event that causes great distress
Physiological Reasons
- Immune or Endocrine system dysfunction
- Autonomic nervous system dysfunction, often after a virus
- Enzyme deficiency which allows accumulation of phosphate
- Gut problems such as Candida Overgrowth [often after antibiotic use]
- ‘Substance P’
- Chronic sleep disorders
This felt like a breakthrough and exactly the kind of thing it would have been useful to know when we were in pain and did not know why.
Isn’t it easier and less stressful to have a check list of potential causes, so we can investigate what they actually mean?
For instance what is Substance P? (It’s a neurotransmitter that amplifies pain). Then you can see what might apply to you and your own situation.
In the sessions of this programme we tackle the emotional and physiological factors.
In the Wellbeing exercises today you will be able to see which of those potential causes of your pain you have eliminated and those you might still have to check out.
Releasing Pain
There is a physiology we adopt for different situations and experiences. How do we know when another person is in pain? We notice how they are holding their body.
Have you ever heard of muscle memory? Body builders harness this when they have been training hard then have a lay off from training their muscles. Their muscles build much quicker after the lay off period due to changes in the muscle fibres as though the muscle remembers how it was.
Body Expert Sal Graziano
Sal Graziano has worked with over 40,000 people in the USA and has enabled people to progress from walking with frames to complete flexibility. He is an expert in body work and massage.
He explains: ‘Your body will re-create anything in repetition that is not life threatening’ His belief is that when our system is stressed physically or emotionally it will create a tightening or contraction in our muscles and joints.
Physiology is remembered and recreated over and over again so we stay in pain unless we replace contraction with space and flexibility. That is why yoga like stretches break the cycle.
We have included 2 of Sal’s videos today in which he shares some of his wisdom on ‘Pain and Muscle Memory’ and he also shows you some very gentle but effective stretches you can begin to use to release pain.
Revised Stretching Program
Are You On The Way To Constant Pain? Watch This.
Elaine's Pain Story
Last year I went on a fun team building day with some colleagues. We had to climb a high wall and help each other to the top. My arm got yanked so hard it popped and it was dislocated. I already had problems with this arm as it had been really painful for 2 years with restricted movement.
I had to get physiotherapy and although it took 4 months this arm was eventually as good as new! I was amazed.
The gentle daily exercises retrained the muscles which had been recreating the memory of a painful and restricted arm because my contracted physiology had become set into having a painful arm with limited movement.
Think how immobile we get with M.E. and fibromyalgia. It’s no wonder that the pain gets worse as we go month on month, year on year, recreating the physiology of pain.
Our muscles remember to stay contracted, tight and wasted. The longer something stays in the body, the deeper the memory. The sooner you deal with it, the sooner it goes away.
The key here is very gradual incremental movement. It starts with simply imagining those muscles stretching and moving (listen to our Recoverer Interview with Liz Bowie to learn more!)
Interview with Liz Bowie
Listen to our interview with beauty therapist Liz Bowie and learn how she released the chronic pain of fibromyalgia by stretching the muscles in her imagination first.
Listen to Interview
Listen to the interview with Liz online or download a copy to your computer from the Downloads section on the right.
Expert Interview Gary Weir
Gary is an Osteopath and Naturopath who specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of back, neck and joint pain. His treatment plan includes soft tissue, articulation and manipulative techniques.
Breathing mechanics, core stability activation and encouragement of flexibility are key areas of Gary's treatment protocols. Stress related conditions such as headaches, neck and back pain are corrected by addressing postural control, correction of respiratory pattern disorders and the key elements of abdominal function.
Listen to Interview
Listen to the interview with Gary online or download a copy to your computer from the Downloads section on the right.
Top Tips
Mind
Every morning when you wake up, start the day with a gratitude check instead of a pain scan. Rather than check what hurts think about what you are grateful for in your life and tap into how it feels in your body when you give thanks.
Body
Choose an activity you can do to create space and flexibility in your muscles. Do half the amount you think you can do and save half your energy for refresh and renew. Build up slowly but surely: 10 seconds extra – 2 minutes extra each time.
Spirit
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
- Buddha
Gather your favourite inspirational quotes together. They are free on the internet, then paste them somewhere. Print them out and read them when you want to connect with something that stirs your emotions. Send us your favourites or share them on our Facebook page.
External World
Ask someone who is supporting your recovery to hold you accountable for doing your stretches or go for a walk. Maybe they can do it with you. Enjoy your exercises today. Take it all at your own pace and affirm your journey to health.
Affirmation For The Week
‘I lovingly create space and flexibility in my body. Moment by moment I am healing and free.’
Wellbeing Exercises
Some Meditations for You To Enjoy
Meditation: Vivienne Bouchier (15 mins)
Meditation: Jane Montague (30 mins)
Meditation: Diana Powley (40 mins)
And Finally
Inspirational Quote
"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."
- Buddha
Recommended Reading
You Can Heal Your Life - by Louise Hay
Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much - Anne Wilson Schaef
In Praise of Slow - Carl Honore
Enjoy your week and remember to update us in the Facebook Group.
Love & gratitude,
Elaine and the Team x
