Types of pain and helpful ways to manage it
- from a movement specialist experiencing pain.
As a subject currently close to my heart I thought I’d write about injury and pain. I’ll explain the different types of pain and strategies I’ve found helpful in managing my pain.
As many of you know for the last three years I’ve had injuries, both in my knees. Wear and tear injuries due to my age! When we’re in our twenties and thirties our bodies are more resilient. As we get older things begin to change. Our muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage have a history now, and through overuse or poor movement strategies injuries can happen. In fact, it was through a back injury in 2007 that I first started to practice Pilates and the results for me and my back are what lead me to become a Pilates teacher in the first place, but that’s a different blog.
In my twenties and thirties (as well as Pilates) I used to run, I also competed in obstacle course races as well as regularly attend boot camps. I loved it; the camaraderie, the adrenaline, and the physical challenge of it. When I had my first knee injury just before the pandemic I was forced into changing how I moved my body. Along with that came a huge level of frustration! I didn’t want to stop doing what I loved and I’m sure many of your reading this will be overcoming your own physical hurdles with injuries and pain.
Pain happens for different reasons and there are several different types of pain and we can experience more than one at the same time.
Acute pain
Acute pain develops over a short period of time. It tends to occur suddenly, often as a result of a known injury, illness, or medical procedure. Acute pain tends to be sharp, rather than dull. It usually goes away within a few days, weeks, or months, after the cause has been treated or resolved. Almost everyone experiences acute pain at some point in their lifetime.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain lasts or comes and goes, over multiple months or years. It may result from a variety of health conditions, such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic migraine, or cancer. Some people also experience chronic pain following an injury, even after the initial injury has healed. In some cases, the cause of chronic pain is hard to identify. Some people experience chronic pain when there’s no other evidence of underlying injury or illness. This is known as functional pain.
Nociceptive pain
Nociceptive pain is the most common type of pain. It’s caused by the stimulation of nociceptors, which are pain receptors for tissue injury. You have nociceptors throughout your body, especially in your skin and internal organs. When they’re stimulated by potential harm, such as a cut or other injury, they send electrical signals to your brain, causing you to feel the pain.
This type of pain you usually feel when you have any type of injury or inflammation. Nociceptive pain can be either acute or chronic. It can also be further classified as being either visceral or somatic.
Visceral pain
Visceral pain results from injuries or damage to your internal organs. You can feel it in the trunk area of your body, which includes your chest, abdomen, and pelvis. It’s often hard to pinpoint the exact location of visceral pain.
Visceral pain is often described as:
pressure
aching
squeezing
cramping
You may also notice other symptoms such as nausea or vomiting, as well as changes in body temperature, heart rate, or blood pressure.
Somatic
Somatic pain results from stimulation of the pain receptors in your tissues, rather than your internal organs. This includes your skin, muscles, joints, connective tissues, and bones. It’s often easier to pinpoint the location of somatic pain rather than visceral pain.
Somatic pain usually feels like a constant aching or gnawing sensation.
It can be further classified as either deep or superficial. For example, a tear in a tendon will cause deep somatic pain, while a canker sore (ulcer) on your inner cheek causes superficial somatic pain.
Examples of somatic pain include:
bone fractures
strained muscles
connective tissue diseases, such as osteoporosis
cancer that affects the skin or bones
skin cuts, scrapes, and burns
joint pain, including arthritis pain
Neuropathic pain
Neuropathic pain results from damage to or dysfunction of your nervous system. This results in damaged or dysfunctional nerves misfiring pain signals. This pain seems to come out of nowhere, rather than in response to any specific injury. You may also feel pain in response to things that aren’t usually painful, such as cold air or clothing against your skin.
Neuropathic pain is described as:
burning
freezing
numbness
tingling
shooting
stabbing
electric shocks
Many clients come to me in the studio because of the pain they’re experiencing in their bodies. Sometimes this is from an injury, post-surgery, or because of chronic pain. Whatever their reason they have reached my doors because they are looking for an active way to either manage that pain or prevent it from reoccurring.
Living with pain is draining, both physically and mentally. I can attest to this. There are good days and there are days when it really drags you down. Here are a few things that I have found helpful in managing my pain:
Getting to know the pain
What type of pain is it that I’m feeling? Does it change? Am I in pain all of the time? What makes my pain worse? Are there times when I’m not in pain? Keeping a pain diary can be really helpful for this. Not for becoming fixated on it but to become familiar with it and know what could be potential triggers.
Movement
Our bodies are designed to move so without it we can become stiff, sluggish, and suffer from low mood. Can you still move in a pain-free range of movement or work around your injury, if you can, then this can be hugely beneficial to your feelings of wellbeing. Mindful movements, such as Pilates, are somatic practices that mean we are learning to ‘feel our bodies’. This is also known as interoception, our ability to understand our bodies’ signals. When we are able to tap into this we are able to regulate our nervous system, calm and nourish ourselves and decrease feelings of stress and anxiety. If during your Pilates practice you are able to feel your breath create expansion and feel your leg moving within the socket then you are building your interoception skills and giving your nervous system a chance to reset.
Breath and meditation
Take a few minutes a day, sit somewhere comfortable, and simply be aware of your breath. Meditation doesn’t mean that we’re not allowed to think, it means that we are fine-tuning the skill of observation of our thoughts. The better we become at that the less the thoughts have meaning and the less we’ll attach ourselves to that meaning. I am a fan of the app Headspace which has a Pain management meditation course. The Calm app also has an excellent introduction to meditation called How to Meditate by Jeff Warren, which I found very helpful.
Get Social
When you’re in pain and can be tempting to shy away from making plans with friends, you may not feel that sociable or even feel down and depressed. I found getting out with friends and making plans really lifts me up and gives me something to look forward to.
If you are struggling with an injury or are living with pain why not try One-to-One Pilates? Tailored to you because you are unique. Get in touch via my one-to-one enquiry form.
Useful reading
Here are some websites that you might find helpful.
Pain management meditation
https://www.meditainment.com/pain-management-meditation
Living with pain resources
https://livewellwithpain.co.uk/
References used in blog:
https://www.healthline.com/health/pain#causes
This blog is not intended to provide individual medical advice. You are recommended to seek advice from your GP or health care provider for personal medical recommendations.
