Tag Archives: physiotherapy London

26Jan/15
Richmond M. Stace Specialist Physiotherapist & Pain Coach

About Specialist Pain Physio

Chronic pain, Chronic pain treatment, Featured, ,
Richmond M. Stace Specialist Physiotherapist & Pain Coach

Richmond M. Stace
Specialist Physiotherapist & Pain Coach

In 2006 I started the Specialist Pain Physio Clinic concept in London and Surrey to deliver innovative, neuroscience-based physiotherapy to tackle chronic pain and injury.

The treatment, training and pain coaching programmes are based upon the latest sciences and understanding of pain. The biopsychosocial approach that I use is the contemporary way of addressing persisting pain and suffering — considering the biology, psychology and social impact.

About Richmond

I am a Chartered Physiotherapist and registered with the Health Professions Council. Originally training as a Registered General Nurse, I developed an interest in pain whilst observing the varying responses in recovery after operations. I continued to train as a physiotherapist, I have a further degree in Sport Rehabilitation and a Masters Degree in Pain Science. My passion is in providing the best journey for you by using the latest therapies for chronic and complex pain. Seeing and hearing about your relief from symptoms, your development of healthy habits and sustained change is my aim for you.

Outside of the clinic, I write and talk about how we can globally change pain by understanding it, communicating about pain accurately, creating a definite plan and how to implement the plan in the most effective way.

I am part of the editorial team for the Physiotherapy Pain Association (PPA), a member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), The Royal Society of Medicine and the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists.

05Jan/15
Richmond M. Stace MCSP MSc (Pain) BSc (Hons)

Richmond Stace | Specialist Pain Physiotherapist

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Richmond Stace | Specialist Pain Physiotherapist

Richmond Stace | Specialist Pain Physiotherapist

About Specialist Pain Physio Clinics

In 2006, I started the Specialist Pain Physio Clinic concept in London and Surrey to provide contemporary and innovative physiotherapy for chronic pain and injury.

I believe and know that pain can and does change when the right conditions are created in both thought and action. Blending the latest neuroscience of pain with tried and tested mentoring techniques, together we comprehensively address the biology of your pain and the influences upon your pain.

Let’s aim high and target success with the right thinking, a vision of where you want to be and a definite plan of how to achieve your success.

Effective treatment, training and mentoring for health and performance — it is time to change..
My physiotherapy treatment, proactive training and mentoring programmes are based upon the latest sciences and understanding of pain. The biopsychosocial approach that I use is the contemporary way of addressing enduring pain and suffering — considering the biology, psychology and social impact.

Richmond Stace MCSP MSc (Pain) BSc (Hons)

I am a Chartered Physiotherapist and registered with the Health Professions Council. Originally training as a Registered General Nurse, I developed an interest in pain whilst observing the varying responses in recovery after operations. I continued to train as a physiotherapist, I have a further degree in Sport Rehabilitation and a Masters Degree in Pain Science. My passion is in providing the best journey for you by using the latest therapies for chronic and complex pain. Seeing and hearing about your relief from symptoms, your development of healthy habits and sustained change is my aim for you.

Outside of the clinic, I write and talk about how we can globally change pain by understanding it, communicating about pain accurately, creating a definite plan and how to implement the plan in the most effective way.

I am on the editorial team for the Physiotherapy Pain Association (PPA), a member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), The Royal Society of Medicine and the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists.

08May/12
Motta hamstring injury Euro 2012 final | Hamstring injuries | Football injuries

The hamstring | a common recurring problem

Football injuries, Pain Education, Sports Injuries, , , ,

The unfortunate Thiago Motta of Italy suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury just minutes after coming onto the pitch last night. The Euro 2012 finalists were already under severe pressure from the dominant Spanish team when he was stretchered off the field clutching the back of his thigh. The Brazilian-Italian footballer was expressing his and his nation’s agony as they eventually lost 4-0.

Hamstring injuries are common in football. Often seen as the player pulling up having been sprinting, he clutches the back of his thigh, then hopping or hitting the floor. The amount of pain can vary as in any injury as pain is not an accurate indicator of the amount of actual damage.

The hamstring group is made of three muscles situated on the back of the thigh: biceps femoris on the outside, and semimembranosus and semitendinosis on the inside. They run from the pelvis to the lower leg, bending the knee but also slowing the knee down as it straightens. It is often in this latter phase that the ‘pull’ occurs.

When the muscle is pulled it can be difficult to walk. There can be bruising and swelling in the thigh, although sometimes this is deep in the leg and therefore not immediately visible. With rupture of the muscle fibres, the blood and fluid may track down the leg, causing bruising and swelling to appear lower than the injury.

With an acute injury, ‘PRICE’ is the management strategy of choice where P is protection, R is rest, I is ice, C is compression and E is elevation. In the early stages of an injury and the healing process there is pain, redness, swelling and heat. These are all manifestations of the inflammation that starts healing. Despite the unpleasantness, the signs and symptoms are the body’s responses to injury and are normal. Seeking the advice of a health professional is advisable so that you can fully understand the problem and what you must do to facilitate the most effective recovery.

When we have recovered from the acuteness of a hamstring injury, an individualised training programme must be designed, explained and implemented by a trainer or physiotherapist. This should be followed, progressed and completed to reduce the risk of future problems in the same area. The exercises and drills become increasingly functional, rehearsing the types of movements and skills needed to perform. This routine is practiced so that the player is ready physically and mentally for the demands of the game.

It is not uncommon for a twinge or similar pain to be felt in the back of the thigh sometime after the original injury. Of course there can be a re-injury where actual muscle fibres or tissue can be damaged. However, there can equally be cases whereby it feels like the original injury but there is no actual damage. In this situation, the brain has recognised the pattern of movement, determines a potential threat and responds with a pain in the back of the thigh, more as a warning shot. This means that there is still an underlying sensitivity that may have been felt as a persisting tightness (‘my hamstrings are always tight’, I often hear) or some discomfort with running or sitting with pressure on the muscles. This low level sensitivity and tightness requires a different treatment and training approach. To determine the difference, you should see a physiotherapist or other healthcare professional who can assess your situation and advise you on a specific course of action.

If you have a recurring hamtrsing injury or pain in the back of your thigh that is stopping you return to full play, call us now: T 07518 445493

03Feb/12

Chronic pain in sport – Specialist Clinic in London

Chronic pain, Problematic sports injuries, Rehabilitation, Sports Injuries, Treatments, , , , , , , ,

Chronic pain is a real problem in the sporting world. The effects of not being able to participate are far reaching, especially when sport is your profession. There are a huge numbers of clinics offering treatments to deal with pain and injury and in many cases the problem improves. However, there are those who do not progress successfully, resulting in on-going pain, failed attempts to return to playing and varied responses to tissue-based treatment (manual therapy, injections, surgery etc). Understanding more about pain and how your body (brain) continues to protect itself is a really useful start point in moving forwards if you have become stuck. We know that gaining knowledge about the problem can actually improve a clinical test and the pain threshold.

When we injure ourselves playing sport the healing process begins immediately. Chemicals released by the tissues and the immune system are active locally, sealing off the area, dealing with the damaged tissue and setting the stage for rebuilding and repair. The pain asscociated with this phase is expected, normal and unpleasant. It is the unpleasantness that drives you to behave in a protective manner, for example limp, seek advice and treatment. Again, that is normal. Sometimes we can injure ourselves and not know that we have damaged the tissues. There are many stories of this happening when survival or something else is more important. This is because pain is a brain (not mind or ‘in the head’) experience 100% of the time. The brain perceives a threat and then protects the body. If no threat is perceived or it is more important to escape or finish the cup final, the brain is quite capable of releasing chemicals (perhaps 30 times more powerful than morphine) to provide natural pain relief. We know that pain is a brain experience because of phantom limb pain, a terrible situation when pain is felt in a limb that no longer exists. The reason is that we actually ‘feel’ or ‘sense’ our bodies via our virtual body that is mapped out in the brain. This has been mapped out by some clever scientists and in more recent years studies intensely using functional MRI scans of the brain.

Unfortunately, the brain can continue to protect the body with pain and altered movement beyond the time that is really useful. Changes in the properties of the neurons in the central nervous system (central sensitisation) mean that stimuli that are normally innocuous now trigger a painful response as can those outside of the affected area. One way to think about this functionality is that the gain or volume has been turned up, and we know that much of this amplification occurs in the spinal cord, involving both neurons and the immune system. Neurogenic inflammation can also be a feature, where the C-fibres release inflammatory chemicals into the tissues that they supply. On the basis that the brain is really interested in inflammation, even a small inflammatory response can evoke protective measures. Changes in the responsiveness of the ‘danger’ system as briefly described, underpin much of the persisting sensitivity. Altered perception is a further common description, either in the sense that the area is not controlled well or feels somewhat different – see here.

As the problem persists, so thinking and beliefs about the pain and injury can become increasingly negative. Unfortunately this can lead to behaviours that do not promote progression. Avoidance of activities, fear of movement, hypervigilance to signals from the body and catastrophising about the pain are all common features, all of which require addressing with both pain education and positive experiences to develop confidence and deeper understanding. An improvement in the pain level is a great way of starting this process, hence the importance of a tool box of therapies and strategies that target the pain mechanism(s) identified in the assessment.

Experience and plenty of scientific data describe the integration of body, brain and mind. This can no longer be ignored. It is fact. The contemporary biobehavioural approach to chronic and complex pain addresses the pain mechanisms, issues around the problem and the influencing factors in a biopsychosocial sense:

  • Biology: e.g./ physiology of pain, body systems involved in protection, tissue health
  • Psychology: e.g./ fears, anxiety, beliefs about the pain, thinking processes, outlook, coping, past experiences
  • Social: e.g./ work effects, effect upon the family, socialising, role of significant others (spouse, family), financial considerations

Specialist Clinic in London and Surrey for chronic pain and injury in sport – call 07518 445493

Chronic pain and injury requires an all-encompassing biobehavioural approach. Although the end aims can be different, the structure and themes within the treatment programme are similar to those that tackle any chronic pain issue. Bringing these principles into the sports arena, we can incorporate traditional models of care and advance beyond the tissue-based strategies to a way of working that addresses the source of the problem alongside the influencing factors that are slowing or even preventing recovery.

If you as a player are struggling to move forwards or have a player on your team who is not recovering or failing to respond as expected to treatment, we would be very pleased to help you. Call 07518 445 493 or email [email protected] for further infomartion about the clinics:

The Specialist Pain Physio Clinics work closely with the very best Consultants and can organise investigations such as MRI scans and x-rays with reports rapidly, an on-site at the New Malden Diagnostic Centre, 9 Harley Street and in Chelsea.

01Feb/12

Can’t get over that skiing injury?

Pain, Rehabilitation, Skiing injuries, Sports Injuries, Treatments, Understanding pain, , , , , , ,

To the skier, the thought of watching friends and family clumping off in their boots towards the lift whilst sitting with a leg up, packed with ice and the daily paper, is intensely frustrating. Injuries happen. In many cases with the right early treatment, perhaps surgery and definitely a thorough rehabilitation programme, the symptoms resolve and the leg works again, good as new. However, there are a number of cases when this does not follow suit and the pain and limitations continue. There are reasons for this occurrence and they extend beyond the health of the tissues that almost always go through a healing process.

There are some complex mechanisms at play in the nervous and immune systems that are really useful when we first have an injury. This of course includes pain that is part of the way the brain defends the body when we damage ourselves. The way in which we go about protecting and treating ourselves is driven in part by the pain that motivates these actions: rest, seek advice or take analgesia. That is what pain really is, a motivator to take action to promote healing and survival. In the early stages of having injured tissues, often ligaments at the knee, this is really useful and important. Briefly, the damaged tissues release chemicals that sensitise the local nerve endings, stimulating a volley of danger signals to be sent to the spinal cord. Here, secondary neurons send this information to the brain for scrutiny. On deeming there to be a threat, the brain engages protective responses including pain, changes in movement and healing. Sometimes we can injure our tissues and the brain decides that something else is more important, perhaps escaping from the mountain, and will send signals down to the spinal cord to interfere with those coming from the tissues. The end result is the feeling of no pain and therefore you can take yourself to safety. Then it can start hurting. All in all, the responses will vary as will our ability to cope.

The early bombardment of the spinal cord and brain with danger signals that can also be influenced by the context of the injury, e.g. really scary, leads to changes in the properties of the neurons in the spinal cord. This means that subsequent signals can be amplified. It also means that normal signals (e.g. light touch) can start to provoke a painful response as can areas not directly involved. In the latter case one can find that the area of pain grows (click here). The on-going activity in the nervous system and other systems such as the immune system, endocrine system and autonomic system underpin the experience of persisting pain and protection, including altered movement that is so important to normalise.

In the case that the problem persists, the treatment is different. The tissues are addressed as one would expect with manual therapy, massage and other local treatments. However, alongside these traditional techniques are a range of strategies and treatments that are based upon the latest pain sciences that target the changes aforementioned and others. These strategies target the mechanisms at play and at source reduce the threat and hence the pain, normalise motor control and sensation of the affected area and restore function so that there can be a progression back to pre-injury activities.

For further information please contact the clinic: 07518 445493

19Dec/11

Back Pain and the BackCare Charity

Back pain, Chronic low back pain, Clinic News, Neuroscience, Pain, Pain Education, Rehabilitation, Treatments, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Back pain is an enormous problem that impacts upon individuals and society. Most people will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime and a proportion will suffer continuing and recurring problems. Those who do continue to experience pain require effective treatment and strategies so that the impact and the distress that it can cause are diminished. Our understanding of pain science has moved forward significantly, meaning that there are contemporary therapies that target changes that we know occur in the brain and other body systems. For example, the graded motor imagery programme and cognitive techniques that impact upon pain threshold and movement.

The early management of a back pain as with other acute pains, will often determine the outcome. Full understanding of what has happened, why it hurts, what is normal about the pain response, how to cope effectively and the use of appropriate medication are all important at this point–see your GP or consultant for advice on medication.

Treat the brain, treat the pain

In persisting or complex cases, the assessment and treatment must be based upon the biopsychosocial model, considering the pain mechanism, influencing factors, beliefs & expectations, prior experiences of pain, the social impact (e.g./ work, family, sports) and fears in relation to movement and activity to name but a few. Pain is an output from the brain 100% of the time in response to an actual or perceived threat. Pain is always a normal response to the information that the brain receives from the spinal cord. In chronic conditions however, the way in which the nervous system changes means that danger signals can continue to be sent to the brain even when there is no actual threat. The brain must still respond by protecting the body by making the area hurt. The brain becomes very good at this, the analogy often used being an orchestra that learns to play one tune only. The pain tune–see Painful Yarns. To change the experience of pain in these cases requires a contemporary approach that is both ‘bottom up’ and ‘top down’. Bottom up refers to therapy that targets tissue health and movement, and top down pertains to training the brain and beliefs that are limiting recovery–see here for more details.

The BackCare Charity

BackCare is a national charity that aims to reduce the impact of back pain on society by providing information, support, promoting good practice and funding research. BackCare acts as a hub between patients, (healthcare) professionals, employers, policy makers, researchers and all others with an interest in back pain.

BackCare supply a number of resources including information packs, articles and a newsletter. A list of practitioners is available so that you can find a local therapist.

The BackCare App – Listed in The Sunday Times App List

If you are a back pain sufferer or you have a professional interest, you can join BackCare here

19Dec/11

Healthy tissues in 1-2-3

Chronic low back pain, Chronic pain, Complex regional pain syndrome, Dysmenorrhoea, Exercise, Fibromyalgia, Functional Pain Syndromes, Low back pain, Neck pain, Pain Education, Rehabilitation, Treatments, Uncategorized, Understanding pain, , , , , , , ,

The simple fact is that our tissues need movement to be healthy. By tissues I am referring to muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, fascia and skin. This does not need to be extreme movement but it must be regular and purposeful. Even without pathology, pain or an injury it is vital that the tissues are moved consistently throughout the day. It is likely that if you are recovering from a pain state, this movement will need to be ‘little and often’ to follow the principle of ‘motion is lotion’. I love this phrase. It was coined by the NOI Group guys and I use it frequently. At the moment I a considering some other phrases with similar meanings. If anyone has any suggestions please do comment below.

There are many types of movement from simple stretching to walking and more structured exercise such as yoga.  For convenience I talk to patients about the ‘themes’ of the treatment programme. In relation to movement there are three themes 1-2-3: specific exercises to re-train normal movement and control of movement, general exercise and the self-care strategies to be used throughout the day.

The specific exercises could include re-learning to walk normally, to re-establish normal control of the ankle or to concurrently develop confidence such as in bending forwards in cases of back pain. Normal control of movement is a fundamental part of recovery. When the information from the tissues to the brain is accurate, there is a clear view on what is happening, menaing that the next movement is efficient and so on.

General exercise is important for our health in body and mind. As well as reducing risk of a number of diseases, our brains benefit hugely from regular exercise. We release chemicals such as serotonin that make us feel good, endorphins that ease pain and BDNF that works like a miracle grow for brain cells. Gradually increasing exercise levels is a part of the treatment programme for all of these reasons.

Move from your seat, or buy one of these!

Regularly punctuating static positions with movement nourishes the tissues and the brain’s representation of the body. The tissues will tighten and stiffen when they remain in one position for a long period of time, and more so when there is pathology or pain. Often there is already overactivity in the muscular system when we are in pain as part of the way the brain defends the body. This overactivity leads to muscle soreness that can be eased with consistent movement.

These three simple measure are behaviours. Behaviours are based on our belief system and therefore we need to understand why it is so important to move and re-establish normal control of movement as part of recovering from an injury or pain state. This includes tackling any issues around fear of movement and hypervigilance towards painful stimuli from the body. Our treatment programmes address these factors comprehensively, employing the biopsychosocial model of care and the latest neuroscience based knowledge of pain.

Email [email protected] for more information about our treatment programmes or to book an appointment.

09Dec/11

Mindfulness

Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Pain, Pain Education, Stress, Treatments, , , , , , , , , , ,

Mindfulness has grown in popularity over recent years, and for good reason. Those who regularly practice mindful meditation and mindfulness on a day-to-day basis will tell you about their clarity of thought, their sense of ease and their good physical health. The practice is recommended by NICE for depression as well as the frequent teaching of mindfulness as a way to deal with pain.

At the clinic, I encourage mindful practice to help the individual be released from the pull of negative and unhelpful thinking about pain. We all have thoughts. This is the action of the mind and is a normal process. Automatic thoughts pop into our head and trigger emotional and physical responses–think about a waxy, yellow lemon resting upon a plate; you take a knife and cut into the rind, releasing the citrus odour as you divide the lemon in two, the pieces rolling away from the blade; you further cut the two halves into quarter segments, each time triggering a small burst of juice into the air around; imagine taking one segment and gently placing it into the front of your mouth; what are you experiencing? Thoughts change our physiology because our brains respond to thinking or imagining, just as if we are present. This is why it can hurt when we watch someone else move their body in a way that would be painful for us.

Automatic thoughts are just that. How we respond next we can decide. By being observant of our thoughts we can avoid following an automatic thought with another thought and another that lead to persisting physiological responses and emotions that are unpleasant and unhelpful. In particular those thougths that often recur and create unease and anxiety. They are simply thoughts. They are not us and they are not reality. They are just thoughts. But, they can be powerful unless we can find a way to be observant, non-judgmental, aware and present. That ‘way’ can be mindfulness.

Here are some great people talking about mindfulness and meditation

 

There has been and continues to be a great deal of work looking at mindfulness and how it may work. The Oxford Mindfulness Centre (OMC) undertakes research and provides training.
‘The OMC Team does ground-breaking clinical and neuroscience research on mindfulness. It assesses the efficacy of different forms of mindfulness practice for different types of problem, and is building up a peer-reviewed body of knowledge about what forms of mindfulness intervention best suits which type of person.’
A list of the OMC publications is available here

For further information on our use of mindfulness for pain, please email [email protected]

09Dec/11

Top 3 recommended books

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These three titles I frequently recommend to patients to help develop the necessary deeper understanding of pain, stress and the role of the mind in physical health. They are all extremely well written and designed to educate to promote change towards more healthy behaviours. This sits exactly with my approach to physiotherapy for painful conditions that are complex, chronic or often both.

Painful Yarns by Lorimer Moseley

‘Moseley is pain management’s answer to James Herriot. This book capture that illusive ability to both educate and entertain’. Dr Micheal Thacker, Pain Sciences Program, Kings College London

‘I love a good story…..but the best thing was that when the stories were compared to how pain works, it made sense’. Dimos, lorry driver with chronic back pain

Available from NOIgroup 01904 737919

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Why zebras don’t get ulcers by Robert Sapolsky


Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky’s acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear – and the ones that plague us now – are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal’s does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way – through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humour and practical advice, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.

Available from Amazon here

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Mindfulness by Mark Williams & Danny Penman

‘If you want to free yourself from anxiety and stress, and feel truly at ease with yourself, then read this book.’ –Ruby Wax

‘You would do well to put yourself in the experienced hands of Mark Williams and Danny Penman, and give yourself over to their guidance and to the programme that they map out.’ –Jon Kabat-Zinn

‘Want a happier, more content life? I highly recommend the down-to-earth methods you*ll find in ‘Mindfulness’. Professor Mark Williams and Dr. Danny Penman have teamed up to give us scientifically grounded techniques we can apply in the midst of our everyday challenges and catastrophes’ –Daniel Goleman, Author of ‘Emotional Intelligence’

‘Peace can’t be achieved in the outside world unless we have peace on the inside. Mark Williams and Danny Penman’s book gives us this peace’ –Goldie Hawn

‘Want a happier, more content life? I highly recommend the down-to-earth methods you’ll find in ‘Mindfulness’. Professor Mark Williams and Dr. Danny Penman have teamed up to give us scientifically grounded techniques we can apply in the midst of our everyday challenges and catastrophes’ –Daniel Goleman, Author of ‘Emotional Intelligence’

Available from Amazon here

21Oct/11

Using neuroscience to understand and treat pain

Chronic low back pain, Chronic pain, Complex regional pain syndrome, Functional Pain Syndromes, Low back pain, Neck pain, Neuropathic pain, Neuroscience, Pain, Pain Education, Pain Psychology, Problematic sports injuries, Rehabilitation, Treatments, Understanding pain, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Neuroscience to treat pain and injury

I love neuroscience. It makes my job much easier despite being a hugely complex subject. Neuroscience research has cast light over some of the vast workings of our brains and helped to explain how we experience ourselves and the richness of life. An enormous topic, in this blog I am briefly going to outline the way in which I use contemporary neuroscience to understand pain and how we can use this knowledge to treat pain more effectively. This is not about the management of pain, it is the treatment of pain. Management of pain is old news.

Understanding pain is the first step towards changing the painful experience. Knowing how the brain and nervous system operate allows us to create therapies that target the biological mechanisms that underpin pain. Appreciation of the plastic ability of the nervous system from top to bottom–brain to periphery–provides us with the opportunity to ‘re-wire’, and therefore to alter the function of the system and make things feel better. Knowing the role of the other body systems when the brain is defending us, is equally important. The synergy of inputs from the immune system, endocrine system and autonomic nervous system provides the brain with infomration about our internal physiology that it must scrutinse and act upon in the most appropriate way. We call this action the brain’s ‘output’ which is the responses that it co-ordinates to promote health and survival.

Treat the brain and to reduce pain

Excellent data from contemporary research tells us that understanding pain increases the pain threshold (harder to trigger pain), reduces anxiety in relation to pain and enhances our ability to cope and deal with the pain. We know that movement can also improve after an education session. This is because the perceived threat is reduced by learning and understanding what is going on inside, and knowing what can be done. The vast majority of patients who come to the clinic do not know why their pain has persisted, what pain really is, how it is influenced and what they can do about it themselves. For me this is the start point. Explaining the neuroscience of pain. Facts that we know people can absorb, understand and apply to themselves in such a way that the brain changes and provides a different experience.

It is the brain that gives us our experience of ourselves and the world around us. This includes the sensory and emotional experience of pain. The brain receives information from the body via the peripheral nervous system that suggests there is a threat to the tissues (input). In response, the brain must decide whether this threat is genuine based upon what is happening at the time, the emotional state, past experience, the belief system, gender, genetics, health status, culture and other factors. In the case that the brain perceives a threat, the output will be pain. The Mature Organism Model developed by Louis Gifford describes this beautifully (see below).

Pain is a motivator. It grabs our attention in the area of the body that the brain feels is threatened based upon the danger signals it is receiving from the tissues via the spinal cord. The brain actually ascribes the location of the pain via the map of the body that exist in the sensory cortex. On feeling the pain, we take action. This is the reason for pain. It motivates us to move, seek help or rest. Pain is an incredible device that we have for survival and learning, necessary to navigate life and completely normal. The brain constructs the pain experience and associated symptoms in such a way that we have to take note and do something about it immediately.

When we injure tissue there is a local release of inflammatory chemicals. These chemicals excite local nerves in the tissues called nociceptors. Normally, nociceptors are quiet but when they are stimulated by inflammation, these nerves send danger signals to the spinal cord where they meet secondary neurons. The early bombardment of signals into the spinal cord causes the secondary neurons to become excited. These cells then send danger signals up to the brain where the information is scrutinised. On the basis of this scrutiny, if the brain perceives a threat, pain will be allocated in the area of the body that is deemed to be in danger. The area of pain is allocated via the representation of the body in the brain (see previous blog here) in the sensory cortex, first mapped by Wilder Penfield and published in 1951. Therefore we know that actually there is no ‘muscle pain’ or ‘knee pain’ but rather pain as a brain experience, and not in the mind I hasten to add, that is detected in a body part or region according to the brain’s perception of threat. These are the body maps that the brain uses to know where information is coming from and to control movement.

This information is part of the neuroscience knowledge that can be used to help people understand their pain and to create therapies that treat pain. Future blogs will look at how we can change and nourish the nervous system to promote healthy tissues at one end of the spectrum with the brain end being targeted by deeper education and Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) for example–click here. The brain and the tissues are not separate, they affect each other in many ways, as do other body systems such as the immune and endocrine systems. Looking at healthy movement and functioning in a truly holistic and biopsychosocial manner with neuroscience underpinnings, provides us with an exciting route forwards in dealing with pain problems.