Fear hurts, literally.

When clients first come to MonkeyDo, they're taught about the three types of pain, and how they influence our movement practice.

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Nociceptive pain signals direct tissue damage (tendon, muscle, ligament, meniscus, etc.) and is usually very SHARP and LOCAL.

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Neuropathic pain signals fascial dysfunction and irregular motor firing patterns, and is usually more ACHY and GLOBAL.

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Then there's centralized pain, which is our psychological reaction to the first two. Centralized pain is not actually pain, per se, but rather an attenuator (dulls/dampens) or amplifier of pain, depending on our perception of it.

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We've seen in research, for example, that fear - especially fear rooted in prior trauma/injury - is a major amplifier, to the extent that our felt sensation of pain can be many times greater than the actual present damage/dysfunction would indicate.  This is a self-defense mechanism.  Your body literally scares itself into not moving.

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The takeaway? Fear can be a roadblock to successful joint repair in that the movement you're afraid of, often, is EXACTLY the movement you need to prompt enough loading stimulus to heal tissue damage and reform the neural response to it.

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The solution? Find the "baby amount" (meaning highly limited load/angle/range) of said movement that you can tolerate without fear and low pain (3/10) and start doing it. This gradual exposure method retrains the local nerve to accept that it's safe to do this movement again, which lowers its sensitivity. From there you begin adding back load/angle/range in small increments until you arrive at a movement/position/exercise stressful enough to trigger a strength adaptation.

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As strength returns, the fear response becomes more muted alongside joint sensitivity, which allows more loading, which triggers more strength adaptation, etc. A virtuous cycle.

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In short, don't fear being afraid.

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Be afraid of not using fear as a signal to growth and adaptation which, I believe, is its actual purpose.

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-Coach Seanobi, BS, CSCS, CEP, CPT

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P.S. - Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help you:

1) Join The Joint Repair Forum. Our Facebook Group for individuals to learn, share, and collaborate on all things Joint Repair. Ask me a question and I'll ACTUALLY ANSWER IT. Join today!

2) FREE Movement Strategy Call

Sick and tired of joint pain keeping you from your favorite movements? You’re likely closer to the solution than you think IF you're willing to make some changes to your training and lifestyle. Working with a strength coach who's been there is the FASTEST way to do it RIGHT. Book a free consultation with me and let's chart the path forward together. Click here to schedule now!