The Pain Isn’t Always Where The Problem Is

Offering Registered Massage Therapy & Yoga Therapy in Courtenay BC

The Pain Isn’t Always Where The Problem Is

July 4, 2023

Are stretches, exercises, heat, massage or something else failing to get rid of your symptoms?! Maybe...

The pain is not where the problem is!

Ok, I’m using the term ‘pain’, but you can insert any annoying and undesirable sensation you might be experiencing…

Either way, it’s easy to zoom right in on the area that is most obviously grabbing your attention and neglect to broaden your horizons.

But it’s so important to cast a wider net! Your body is an amazingly interconnected being, and it’s not a machine! No two people’s bodies are going to react to, adapt to, and handle stressors in the same way!

Here's an analogy I use that seems to resonate with people...

Imagine an office space that employs various workers with their own work tasks:

Worker A – for whatever reason – is not completing their work.

Worker B, who DOES complete their work, sees that Worker A left some stuff unfinished and completes Worker A’s unfinished tasks.

So now, we have one worker who isn’t pulling their weight, and another worker who’s pulling extra weight.

This goes on for quite some time and becomes somewhat of a habit, or expectation.

Which worker is going to show signs of burnout first?

Worker B!

The same type of thing happens in the human body all the time...

Temporary compensations can become the new norm.

Your body will be a good sport for a while, but eventually, it’s going to start telling you it needs a break.

This may lead you to making a change and addressing the source of the issue right away, OR, a third area may get involved to compensate…

If we return to the previous analogy, it would be as though Worker B could no longer finish all their usual tasks because of their added workload, and so now a third worker – Worker C – starts to pitch in.

Eventually, this snowball effect of compensation patterns layered on top of compensation patterns builds.

This is why, over the years, as you start to work on your mobility, balance, strength.. you may start to ‘wake up’ some old stuff. You’re not necessarily creating new issues or injuring yourself! You are more likely ‘peeling back the layers of the onion’ as you work your way backwards to the root of your symptoms. Read more about this concept HERE!

This blog entry was written by Heather and is based on what she has seen resonate with, and work for her clientele for over a decade. She is a career student who keeps her massage and yoga therapy training current, and does her best to keep up with the newest research and evidence.

Offering Registered Massage Therapy & Yoga Therapy in Courtenay BC