Reframe Your Pain with this One Concept!

One simple concept can help you reduce your fear and panic surrounding pain:

Understanding that pain is simply a signal: it's not an indicator that physical damage has happened! 

Your pain receptions light up when a threat to your body has been detected. These receptors can't tell the difference between physical damage (such as a bad fall off your mountain bike) or instability in your internal environment (such as a pelvic rotation creating instability in a joint or your spine).

We often get in our heads that our pain is from a single, physical point of injury: such as "my low back hurts because I have a herniated disc." This can keep us in fear, in a negative spiral that we "are broken," or make us believe the only way we can get out of pain is my fixing this assumed-to-be damaged area.

This can close your mind to other possibilities and solutions!

I encourage you to think about your pain as your body doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing: protecting you from harm and letting you know when something is off. You body is trying to HELP you! If you can also look at your pain as simply a signal, you can train your brain to down-regulate and think: "ok, this is just a warning. Time to figure out what's off!"

Want to fully understand the pain signal and the messages your body is sending you? I'm here to help! Book a one on one virtual session here.

• Is pain always a sign of injury or damage?

  No. Pain is not always a sign of tissue damage. Pain is a signal from your nervous system that a threat has been detected. That threat could be physical injury, but it can also be instability, poor alignment, fascial restriction, stress, or imbalance in the body. Pain is information—not proof that you’re broken.

• Why does pain feel real even when imaging shows nothing wrong?

  Pain feels real because it is real—but it doesn’t always come from structural damage. Pain receptors cannot distinguish between physical injury and perceived instability in the body, such as joint misalignment, restricted fascia, or nervous system overload. This is why many people experience pain despite “normal” MRIs or X-rays.

• How does fear and panic make pain worse?

  Fear amplifies pain by keeping the nervous system in a heightened, protective state. When you believe pain means damage, the brain increases threat signals, which can intensify symptoms. Reframing pain as a signal instead of a catastrophe helps down-regulate the nervous system and often reduces pain intensity.

• Can changing how I think about pain actually reduce it?

  Yes. Changing your relationship with pain can significantly reduce symptoms. When you understand pain as a signal rather than damage, your brain stops escalating the alarm. This creates space to assess what’s truly off—such as posture, movement patterns, fascia restriction, or stress—and respond effectively.

• What’s the next step after understanding pain as a signal?

  The next step is learning how to interpret the signal correctly and address its source. This often includes working with fascia, restoring movement and stability, and calming the nervous system. Personalized guidance can help you identify patterns and respond to your body with confidence instead of fear.