The path of least resistance to pain relief

Pain can be a great teacher. Pain can also be viewed as just an indicator of resistance to movement. Pain can be a knee-jerk reaction to conditions, a tendency to brace, stiffen, tense, breath hold.

Of course this and educational blog, and the context of this discussion is referring to someone who already has sought medical attention and has chronic pain.

Ray unpacks a pain management mindfulness strategy that first uses finding the path of least resistance. The path of least resistance is the path to the most allowing of well-being.

“It is much easier to remove resistance at 5 mph than 100 mph. Really, we want to go 100 mph with no resistance moving and on the most allowing path. Get the trees out of the way of the path.” -Abraham.

Turn inward is the first step.

The strategy starts by collecting data, slowing down, and become aware of thoughts, feelings, patterns of movement and breathing or not breathing. Find positions or movement of the least resistance. When in distress, move away from the “hot” areas.

“You have to begin to do what is unnatural-give in during the midst of a crisis” -Joe Dispenza, DC.

You may have a hard time wrapping your head around this. The path of least resistance here is indirect. We are used to doing things directly like stretching tight muscles, mobilize stiff joints tight, strengthen what is weak.

Self-soothing a top priority when in pain.

When in distress no physical energy is required, just more deliberate focus. Relax into the pain, avoid tensing. I know, not always easy.

The brain evaluates signals from the body and environment in a process of triage.  Stay the course, or go into fight or flight, or freeze or hibernation/dormancy? 

When in pain, most of us are in sympathetic fight or flight. increased pain from activity A general state of protection, a desire to control external circumstances, state of mobilization, push, a struggle to slow down, the arteries constrict, tension in arms and legs, thoughts race, restlessness, worry.

Frequently there is imbalance with the phasic muscles and postural tonic muscles.

Phasic muscles are available on demand, good at resting, used for large dynamic recruitment, tend to be fast twitch speed power fibers, tend to get weak when not used tend to atrophy lose mass and strength.

A pioneer to our physical therapy profession Florence Kendall called this passive insufficiency. I've noticed dormant gluteus maximus muscle contraction control with acute sciatica symptoms and/or a history of back surgery.

Postural tonic muscles are for anti gravity, have high resting tone, more slow twitch endurance fibers, hold you upright sensitive proprioceptors, tend to have problems with over-recruitment. An example is neck pain. Florence Kendall called this active insufficiency. I met Florence Kendall once and told her our profession ignores her insufficiency discoveries

You can’t change what you don’t understand. 

Ok, what is the autonomic nervous system or ANS?  The ANS has sympathetic/parasympathetic branches, a vagal nerve, and nociceptor threat detection in brain stem. 

The ANS has 6 states, 3 of regulation and 3 states of dysregulation. 

The threat detector asks, “Is it safe, dangerous, or life threatening?”  Is the movement difficult or easy? Do you inhale or exhale when you move?

It's safe. Right frontal cortex signals amygdala threat detector explore, learning switch on.

It is dangerous or life threatening. Left prefrontal cortex signals amygdala defensive.

When adequate dopamine is present right frontal cortex signals to amygdala it's safe.

So, you want to explore your core values. Adequate dopamine being things you enjoy without numbing out

Core values?

Reading, nature, dance, sports, laughter, relationships, culture, art, music, self-care, service to others, move with attention, gratitude. 

Numbing out dopamine (overdoing social media, numbing out exercising, numbing out drinking, not against it btw) influences the nucleus accumbens, influences the amygdala for cravings and addictions.

The threat detector is part of the learning switch described in 9 essentials I use. 

• Attention: Movement with attention sparks new brain connections, enabling change and growth.

• Slow: Slowing down engages the brain, creating new patterns and deeper experiences.

• Variation: Provide your brain and body with more information.

• Subtlety: Less force equals greater sensitivity, improving ease and vitality.

• Enthusiasm: Energizes the brain and makes change possible.

• Flexible goals: Open the mind to unexpected opportunities, reducing anxiety and boosting creativity.

• Learning Switch: Turns the brain on to growth, creativity, and new possibilities.

• Imagination & Dreams: Guide the brain to create new possibilities and authentic growth.

• Awareness: Awakens the brain to subtlety, learning, joy, and human potential.

The detector accesses the date base of history, which may have unresolved

• T-physical trauma

• t- emotional trauma

also looks at the past, anticipating the future.  

In a Regulated state of “I can” or “I’m curious”, you are in the ventral (front) vagal complex.  You can anchor into the here now joy, fun, connection, and flow.

There are 3 states of regulation toward homeostasis

• Parasympathetic in more of ventral vagal complex in PFC prefrontal cortex good choices

• Stillness being in meditation, quietness.

• Play.  Being silly, weird.  You dip into sympathetic tone in a regulated state.

Step on the gas pedal keeping your body in nervous system regulation. Move with attention.

Gratitude, breathing, move with attention, meditation, cognitive reframing and all your core values can help maintain regulation.

What if you are not safe, danger, and life threatening? We triage.

Three states of dysregulation

1. Sympathetic “fight or flight”

2. Dorsal vagal complex hibernation (dorsal refers to back or upper side)

3. Freeze usually stiffen the chest and freeze breathing.

Sympathetic fight or flight.

increased pain from activity....

• state of protection

• a desire to control external circumstances

• state of mobilization, push, a struggle to slow down

• the arteries constrict, tension in arms and legs, thoughts race, restlessness, worry

• A vagal heart dam breaks open from energy.  Doing energy to be in control. Anxious energy.  Leads to burnout.  …let’s hand the baton in the race to step 2 freeze. The complete opposite…

Freeze

“I have to”  but  “I can’t” tug of war. I try to do daily activities however I hurt.

1. Sympathetic tone=shut down dorsal tone tug of war

2. Mobilize vs shut down

3. Deer in a headlight, tons of energy.

Dorsal vagal complex (hibernate) shut down

“I can’t”  ….Ok darling, we love you…. 

1. Let’s cloak you.

2. Let’s shut down.

3. Let’s hibernate like a bear. 

4. Let’s conserve energy. 

You leave your body. Let’s get out of here.  Disassociate from our body.

We get apathetic, in a funk, gray, low energy, not social, hopeless, feel shame for not doing. I call this learned helplessness state. Serotonin increases learned helplessness, and learned helplessness increases serotonin.

For more information, listen to Sarah Baldwin’s You Make Sense Podcast. 

References

Sarah Baldwin You make sense podcast.

The teachings of Anat Baniel and Moshe Feldenkrais.

The Teachings of Abraham. Audio recordings.

You are the placebo. Making your mind matter. By Joe Dispenza, DC.

Ray Peat’s Newletter.  Shock, inflammation, Resistance, Epigenetics.  May 2014.

Chase Hughes. Behavior Expert.