How pain works and the effect it has on the body and mind.

Ok … bearing in mind that I have to search the data banks of my memory for something that happened six weeks ago, I shall try to get out everything the doctor of pain said to my partner and I on my first ‘real’ appointment with him.

Firstly, I am not a medical professional. What I write here is what has been told to me by a medical professional to help my specific case.

Secondly, examples here are totally generalised as I perceive them, they are not real in any way and do not pertain to my case or anyone that I know of.

Finally, the examples are way out of context in most places, but I am trying to get as best a picture in your head with my words as I can. So overkill and over exageration generally works best for me.

Pain starts off in one specific place.

For example, if you hurt your shoulder working out, then generally you can identify the exact spot where the pain is eminating from.

If left untreated in the right way, the pain can then travel from the starting point and eventually you can end up feeling pain throughout your whole body.

Example: When you hurt your shoulder you went for physio for a week and it seemed to be healed ok, but there was still some underlying damage which was not seen to. So, it eventually got so bad that you felt like your whole arm was on fire everytime you move your elbow.

Eventually the sensation of pain travels through all your nerve endings and lodge itself quite nicely in the central nervous system.

In essence, your body becomes so sensitive to the pain that pain starts to become amplified with every gesture and every movement, no matter how small. Kind of like a wave. It starts off small and quite a distance off shore. As it travels closer to the shore it grows in size and power. It finaly breaks on the shore, totally immersing the sand.

Once it becomes resident, it starts to bombard the brain with constant messages of negativity.

So, the brain gets so many messages of this nature that it starts to beleive them. Even when there is no pain, the brain is so used to getting these messages, that it keeps sending out these communications that you are in pain. (much like a hyped up gossip columnist who has all their information wrong most of the time)

What reaction is caused by the mind in response to the pain the body is saying exists?

Simple really. It creates Adrenalin.

There is good adrenalin (like the rush you get when you jump out of a plane at 30k feet and for that split second you ask yourself if you remembered to put your shute on before jumping.)

Then there is the bad adrenalin. (This is the adrenalin created when under high levels of stress, lengthy battles with pain in the body, getting angry and not being able to release that anger, and basically the more negative things that can cause an adrenalin rush.)

Effectively, it is the SAME adrenalin in both situations, but it is processed differenty within the body. The good adrenalin is released through the pores of the skin and heightens such emotions as excitement, thrills, and enjoyment. However, the bad adrenalin has no release from the body, physically. It stays, bouncing around the place causing all sorts of mayhem in it’s travels. It can even kill ‘natural killer cells’ (the cells responsible for helping us keep such nasty things away as cancer, and other illnesses which can become fatal if left unfound or untreated.)

How do we get rid of the ‘bad’ adrenalin from the body?

Again, this is simply answered. Sweating. Yup, good old fashioned sweat. Now, don’t be getting on that phone and signing up for two years in the nearest gym. I doubt any of my friends would even be able to imagine me in a gym without falling off their chairs in hysterical laughter. And thanks, I don’t want to be responsible for their hernias.

The doctor told me to go sit in a sauna three times a week or have a hot bath 5 times a week, and if it were safe, have the heater going while in there. The human body needs to sweat at least 20-30 minutes per day to efficiently get rid of the excess adrenalin build up in the system.

Way back in the ages of the pyramids being built, the human body was conditioned to be physically active for 10-14 hours per day. The rest of the 24 hour period was spent eating and sleeping. It was tough.

The body’s conditioning has not changed, but our lifestyles have. With the age of the computer, telephone and other ‘necessities’ of the modern age, we have become lazy and our bodies are suffering the consequenses of our non-activity.

Releasing of adrenalin helps to desensitize the body. It helps the body to ‘relax’ back to it’s natural unpained state.

Example: Basically, through the act of sweating, we are getting rid of those negative messages to the brain because the body is not saying, “hang on mate, you’re being misinformed. This is what is happening, and there really is no pain at all.” (much like the wave on the beach. Once it uses up all it’s power, it has no choice but to recede back to the depths in which it came from.)
How does this affect my carbon foot print?

With our carbon footprints being stomped all over the place willy nilly, it may seem unrealistic to practise this method and not have a conscience about it. But my theory is, we have disregarded our well being and self preservation long before we started disregarding the environment. And, if I can get my body physically enough in shape to be able to tackle going to the gym without being in bed for a week afterward, then the effort I put in now will all be worth it, and the dent in the footprint I create now may well be considerably lessened in some way.

Well, that is the theory, at least.