Moving through pain rather than away from pain.

Written by Physiotherapy, PIlates and Yoga teacher Samantha Ziman 

Pain in our body is a signal that something needs to change. It is our very own warning bell. This signal can start as a whisper, maybe a feeling of tension or tightness in the body. If not attuned to, then the pain signal can increase to a louder version such as a sharper pain or injury. Often people will say they don’t know why the pain started but one morning they just woke up and pain was there. This is often due to a tension in the muscles that has been building up for a long time and has been ignored and therefore resulted in an injury. 

Now, in the world we live in we are not taught to attune to our bodies and what it needs. This attunement can be fostered and is usually increased via the methods of pilates or yoga. 

This attunement helps you become more clear as to where in the body you are feeling tension, and with this information you can start to gently release it. 

Moving everyday will help you explore the body in deeper ways to shift chronic tension patterns and therefore prevent injuries. 

A great way is to begin a morning stretching program.

A common question we are often asked as Physiotherapists is whether a patient needs to rest when injured. The issue we see is when someone has a pain or injury, they can begin to narrow their focus onto that specific pain, and with each flareup they stop moving. This increased tension and lack of movement can perpetuate more pain.

We may need to look at a different perspective here:

The body is linked through fascia (web-like connective tissue). Let’s say that the neck is painful. If we avoid all movement then the whole body begins to tighten. Sometimes we can begin releasing the tension in the lower limbs or work on the pelvic/ gluteal area which will then create a stronger foundation in the body. What this means is that if you have neck pain, you can still exercise! We can start to strengthen and stretch other parts of the body and due to the fascial/ muscular connections of the body, this will have a positive impact on your pain. With mindful guided movement, you can continue to move everyday. 

If you would like to start to delve into this level of movement and attunement book in with one of our physiotherapists and start your pilates journey or book in with Sam to begin Yoga.