If your shoulder, back or knee hurts, it’s natural to assume that’s where the problem is. But pain doesn’t always tell the whole story. Discover why understanding how your body works as an integrated system can help you make better decisions about pain, movement and recovery.

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If It Hurts There…

That Must Be Where The Problem Is?

Hi, I’m Alexis Weidland, osteopath at BlossomingMe and Healthy Learning Lounge. Last week we explored one of the biggest assumptions I hear in clinic: ‘My body is out of alignment.’ Today I’d like to gently challenge another assumption…

“If it hurts here, then here’s where the problem is.”

A Story from Clinic

A lovely lady came to see me because of persistent shoulder pain. Before she’d even sat down she pointed to the outside of her shoulder and said:

“It hurts right here. Can you fix that muscle for me?”

If I wasn’t trained in this area, that’s probably exactly what I’d be thinking too. If it’s where it hurts, surely that’s where the problem is.

We Started With Questions

Instead of jumping straight into examining her shoulder, we talked.

        👉   When did it begin?

        👉   What makes it better or worse?

          👉    Has it changed recently?

        👉   How have you been sleeping?

          👉    What sort of work have you been doing?

          👉    Were there any previous injuries?

          👉   How stressed have you been?

Gradually, a much bigger picture started to emerge.

What We Found

Her shoulder was certainly irritated, but it wasn’t the only finding. Her:

         ✔   Upper back was stiff.

         ✔   Rib cage wasn’t expanding well.

         ✔   Breathing had become shallow.

         ✔   Neck muscles were working harder than they needed to.

         ✔   Arm wasn’t swinging naturally when she walked.

                             ➝ Suddenly, her shoulder wasn’t the only thing telling us the story.

The Primary Driver

One of the phrases I’ve started using in clinic is ‘primary driver’ (the influence currently having the biggest impact on the way your body is functioning).

“Sometimes the primary driver is exactly where the pain is. Sometimes it isn’t.”

Pain Is the Loudest Voice

I often think of pain as the loudest voice in the room. We should absolutely pay attention to it – but it isn’t always the only voice.

• Breathing
• Rib cage movement
• Sleep
• Stress
• Movement patterns
• Previous injuries
• Load transfer through the body

Pain as a Protective Alarm

I like to think of pain as your body’s protective alarm system. Like a smoke alarm, its job is to draw your attention to something important. Sometimes it reflects tissue damage very accurately. Sometimes it becomes overprotective and responds to many influences working together.

Questions Worth Asking

• What is my body trying to protect?
• What has changed recently?
• Has my movement changed?
• Has my breathing changed?
• How am I sleeping?
• Am I under more stress?
• What patterns am I noticing?

Examples

The same principle can apply to headaches, heel pain and lower back pain. Sometimes the painful area is the primary driver. Other times, other regions or systems are increasing the load on that area.

“Pain points us towards a problem. It doesn’t always explain the problem.”

Three Gentle Invitations

Before finishing, I’d love to invite you to try three things this week.

• Become a detective: Notice the patterns around your pain rather than only where it hurts.
• Listen to the quieter voices: Pay attention to breathing, sleep, stress, movement and confidence.
• Be patient with your body: Recovery usually happens one small step at a time.

Recovery Reflection

If pain is the loudest voice, what quieter voices might your body also be trying to help you hear?

Next Week

Next week we’ll explore another common assumption: ‘I just need to strengthen my core…’, ‘I just need to stretch more…’, or ‘I just need to activate my glutes…’.

So that’s it for today.

Did it raise any questions or aha moments? If so, I’d love to hear them. So please put those in the comment section. I love answering questions. I hope you found today useful. And if you know someone who could use this information, please share it. Remember to comment, like and subscribe.

Until next time and in health,

Bye for now.

Click the Button Below for my RibCage Reset min-course

About Blossoming Me

BlossomingMe offers a fully integrated approach to your wellbeing. Located on Sydney’s Upper North Shore. Sarah is our Cranio-sacral and Remedial Massage Therapist and health and lifestyle coach. She can help relieve those problematic knots, tightness and other specific ailments to promote a healthy recovery. These complementary massage therapies can be combined to suit your needs, and include: craniosacral therapy, shiatsu, acupressure, reiki, remedial, swedish, and body-mind-massage. 

Our qualified Osteopath, Alexis, offers a drug free, minimally invasive, “hands on” treatment focusing on the musculoskeletal system with its associated muscles, tendons, ligaments, membranes, bones and joints. Alexis takes a functional approach. This means that she focuses on the way a component (body part, tissue or group of tissues) performs its role, as well as the way the body works, performs and integrates as a whole. Our team can support you to improve your posture and therefore your overall health.

**Disclaimer** The information provided by BlossomingMe, on our website, in our courses, and in our blogs and posts, is for educational and informational purposes only. The information provided on this site and social outlets is not, nor intended to be, a substitute for profess

ional advice or care. Please seek the advice of a qualified health professional before you make any changes to your health regime, before dealing with new symptoms, and, if something you have read here has raised any questions or concerns regarding your situation.