In today’s post, I want to give you a clearer understanding of pain – so you can stop living in fear and start feeling equipped and confident to take control of your body again.
Why You’re Still in Pain – and What You Can Do About It
Understanding Chronic Pain
We’ve all been there. Scraped knees. Stubbed toes. Twisted ankles.
As kids, a few tears, a funky band-aid with our favourite cartoon, and a kiss from Mum usually sorted it out. But as we get older, those plasters don’t cut it anymore. We don’t bounce back quite as quickly. What’s more, we start avoiding things just to stay “safe”.
We shy away from movements, sports, or even simple day-to-day activities because we fear getting hurt again. Or making the aches we already have even worse.
But here’s the real question:
Do we truly understand what’s going on when we experience pain?
Let’s put it in perspective
You sustain a small injury – maybe it’s a tweak in your back from lifting something, a twisted ankle, or a sore neck. Life has to go on, so you brush it off.
You carry on, thinking: “Ah, it’ll sort itself out.”
But weeks turn into months… and suddenly, that tiny injury has become lingering, unexplained chronic pain.
For me, it was something as silly as bumping my big toe on furniture one too many times – which ended up causing chronic hip pain for over a year.
Sounds ridiculous, right? You might be thinking: “How on earth does a stubbed toe affect the hip?”
Here’s where understanding your pain really matters.
When you bump your toe, you naturally avoid putting too much pressure on that foot. You start compensating – subtly changing how you move to protect the painful area.
Without even realising it, you adjust your entire movement pattern.
The pain in the toe subsides, but now… you’ve developed hip pain. And you’re probably blaming something else entirely.
You adapted. You compensated. You built habits around avoiding discomfort.
And because it wasn’t “bad enough” to stop you completely, you just learned to live with it.
Here’s the truth:
Pain – even mild, chronic pain – is information.
It’s your body waving a little flag saying: “Hey… something here needs attention.”
Understanding Pain: The 4 Key Words
These four words can help you make sense of your experience and start to regain control:
1. Insult
Definition: An unconscious response to a stimulus.
Example: Your shirt pressing against your skin or the chair under your legs – you don’t notice it until someone mentions it.
Key Point:
- Simple input into the body. It doesn’t register as a problem.
2. Irritation
Definition: A conscious response to a stimulus.
Example: Sitting in one position too long and feeling the need to move.
Key Points:
- Exists on a 0–10 scale (from mild discomfort to severe discomfort).
- The right amount of irritation can create positive change (like muscle soreness from training).
- The challenge is knowing which irritation is productive – and which is problematic. That’s where expert guidance helps.
3. Pain
Definition: A negative emotional response to irritation.
Example: The fear and catastrophic thoughts that rush in after feeling a sharp pain in your back during a squat.
Key Points:
- Pain is often tied to uncertainty and fear – not necessarily tissue damage.
- With experience, your emotional response can lessen. (Think about how the second ankle sprain feels less scary than the first.)
- Understanding your past recoveries helps you stay calm and confident when pain shows up again.
4. Injury
Definition: The decision “I can’t” – a self-imposed functional limitation.
Example: Avoiding brushing your hair with your right hand because of shoulder pain, even though movement is still technically possible.
Key Points:
- There’s a difference between what your body can’t do and what you believe you can’t do.
- Psychological injury = avoiding movement due to fear, not actual physical inability.
When you understand these four stages, you can start to untangle your experience of pain – and make smarter, calmer decisions about how to move forward.
If you’ve been living with chronic niggles or aches, chances are you’ve already adapted and compensated more than you realise.
Why Chronic Pain Can Be So Confusing
Pain isn’t just a physical thing. It’s a complex mix of:
- Your nervous system
- Your thoughts, emotions, and stress levels
- Your daily movement habits
- Past injuries and experiences
In short – pain is not always a direct map of tissue damage.
Sometimes, the injury has healed… but the brain and nervous system are still protecting the area out of habit.
This is why you can have pain even when scans or tests show nothing wrong.
And it’s why understanding pain – not just chasing symptoms – is so important.
3 Mindset Shifts to Approach Chronic Pain Differently
Listen Without Fear
Pain is a request for attention - not a punishment. Instead of panicking or pushing through, notice patterns: When does it show up? What eases it? What aggravates it?
Shift From Fixing to Rebuilding Trust
The goal isn't to "eliminate" every sensation instantly. It's to slowly build stability, strength, and safe movement so your brain starts trusting that area again.
Zoom Out
Is something in your whole kinetic chain contributing to the issue? Are you sleeping enough? Managing stress? Moving consistently (but not excessively)? Chronic pain often eases when we support the whole system - not just the sore spot.
Takeaway
Pain doesn’t have to control you.
With understanding, patience, and the right strategies, you can rebuild trust in your body – and start moving freely again.
And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.
Having someone in your corner – to guide you, answer your questions, and help you rebuild confidence in your body – can make all the difference.
I am eager to be in your corner.
Love Dani
