Pain is Information
Pain is more than just an uncomfortable sensation—it's a form of communication from your body, a warning system alerting you to something that requires attention. Whether it stems from stasis (lack of movement or flow, such as blood or lymphatic stasis), tissue irritation, or inflammation, pain is essentially your body’s way of saying, “Pay attention, something needs to change.” When we approach pain with this mindset, we can begin to understand what our body needs and work with it, not against it, to restore balance and function.
The Role of Pain in Neurological Inhibition and Muscle Tightness
In our practice, when addressing issues like pain, we often find that neurological inhibition plays a significant role. This means certain muscles aren't firing or functioning properly, leading to compensatory tightness in other areas, or neural tone is not ideal. One of the most commonly discussed measures of a healthy neural tone is vagal tone, which relates to the activity of the vagus nerve—the major nerve of the parasympathetic system. A healthy, high vagal tone indicates a well-functioning parasympathetic system that can efficiently calm the body down after stress and promote rest, digestion, and recovery.
Why "Feel Good" Pain Works
When pressure is applied at a tolerable level, it often induces what we call a “feel-good pain.” It’s the sensation you might experience when working on a "problem area"—a tight muscle or tension point. At this point, the brain responds by releasing endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin almost as a “reward” for listening. These chemicals not only help to alleviate the discomfort but also signal the body that it is safe, encouraging relaxation and muscle release. It’s a natural, chemical-driven way for your body to unwind tightness.
The goal is to put your body into a state where it feels safe, supported, and capable of healing itself. When this happens, tight muscles begin to release, not because we’ve "forced" them to, but because we’ve created an environment in which the body is ready to let go of the tension.
When Too Much Pressure Sends the Wrong Message
On the other hand, when too much pressure is applied—beyond what the patient can tolerate—the body interprets this as a threat. Pain becomes more than just information; it turns into a distress signal. The brain responds by releasing cortisol, the stress hormone, which triggers the body's "fight or flight" response. This tells the patient to guard, tense up, and pull away from the pressure. Instead of helping the muscle relax, it reinforces the very tightness and guarding that we're trying to alleviate. Unfortunately, some patients and practitioners fall into the belief that the “no pain, no gain” mentality is necessary when manual therapy is used. However, this only leads to pain modulation and an increase for “compensation adaptation”. Imagine having shoulder pain and then all of a sudden you step onto a nail on the floor that penetrates your foot. The shoulder pain no longer seems to be as bad since there is a new danger and threat to your body. In the same sense, going beyond the pain threshold from the pressure applied in a session has the potential to help temporarily, but has a low probability of helping long term.
Choosing the Right Therapist: A Matter of Communication
This is why understanding how to interpret pain and apply pressure effectively is so crucial in manual therapy. It’s not about crushing muscles to make them release but about putting the body into a state of safety where release happens naturally. A skilled therapist will be able to walk this fine line, applying just the right amount of pressure that lets your body know it’s safe while avoiding the kind of discomfort that leads to guarding and more tension.
When you’re choosing a therapist, it's essential to consider whether they approach pain as a form of communication, rather than something to fight against. The best therapists will listen to your body’s signals and use them as a guide to find the optimal path to healing, one that works with your body instead of forcing it into submission.
