Why do we call movement, medicine? Because sometimes getting “stiff” planes of movement behaving in new ways that were previously avoided is just what the doctor ordered. Overtime, small injuries or habits and lied to you avoiding certain emotions. This may seem innocent, but when someone develops chronic pain it is important to open up those pathways to unlock more range of motion and less fear of movement.

In this Instagram post, you see a patient of mine killing it with something that, at the beginning of the appointment, would have been devastatingly painful. The neurological pathways that were holding the patient back in reference to these particular movements have been opened up in a sense.

FUN FACT: “Graded Exposure” is the concept of progressively exposing someone to something typically seen as frightening or traumatizing one small piece at a time until they conquer said fear. This is how people get over things like PTSD or, in this case: chronic pain.

So why THIS sudden change? Well, he started easy with small lightweight movements and eventually grooved a pattern. His brain understood that the movement being performed was not actually a threat (often seen as pain in our brain) and downgraded the fear response. This allowed him to move further than ever.

As we can see, in this particular case, pain was his brain’s fear to a novel or previously avoided motion being disproportionately elevated due to his prior history of experiencing negative symptoms associated with that pathway.

Have pain bending forward? Feel like an old man? Text me today at 305-902-6644 and we can get you started on the road to hands-to-the-floor flexibility.