Getting stronger almost always means you will have less pain. This equation works on many different levels. It works on the physical level of training our bodies to be able to handle the jobs we give it to do. It works on an emotional level by becoming empowered to feel that we have control over our bodies instead of allowing our pain to control us, and it works on an energetic level by changing long held patterns of weakness and tightness caused by past trauma.
Physically, the stronger our muscles are, the less stress our joints take. Imagine I threw a very heavy ball at you. If you were strong enough to catch it your muscles would take the stress of the weight. If you weren’t strong enough to catch it, your joints (and your tendons and ligaments) would take on the stress that the muscles couldn’t handle. This happens on a small scale all day long. If you sit at a desk all day, but your core muscles aren’t strong enough to hold you up, then the joints, and tendons and ligaments in your spine start to take the stress. The stronger we are the more our joints can be supported by our muscles and the less strain we put on them. Being a heavier person only magnifies this equation. The more weight we carry around, the faster our muscles get tired. It’s ok to have extra weight as long as you’re extra strong.
When people come to me who have chronic or recurring pain they tend to have a feeling of powerlessness about their body. There is a sense that they have lost control, and their injury has taken over their lives and their ability to make decisions. The unpredictability of the pain and the feeling that there’s nothing they can do, or control about their situation makes them feel like a pawn in someone else’s game. Much of what I do in the massage room and in the gym is to help give people an understanding of the specifics of their pain and help them take some power back. Strengthening is like reclaiming your space. You get a clear understanding of the patterns of weakness and tightness in your body and you very consciously work to change those patterns. It’s an empowering experience for everyone, but especially for those in pain.
Our patterns of weakness and tightness aren’t arbitrary and are often the result of trauma that we’ve stored in the body. We have a natural reaction to avoid pain, so when we experience pain we tend to wall off the effected areas, and not use them, often not even feel them. This can sometimes mean not using a muscle for years. If you don’t use it, you don’t have to feel it. This is one reason why so many people resist exercise. In order to use our muscles, we have to feel them, and sometimes they’re storing some very bad feelings. I believe it’s why so many people hate working their abdominal muscles. We tend to store a lot of trauma in that area, and it’s very hard to work muscles that make you feel emotionally terrible. But what most people don’t realize is that it’s temporary. Once you feel that emotion and process that trauma you have access to your body again, and can get it stronger. I will acknowledge that like any bodywork, it’s hard to do on your own. Finding a personal trainer, or exercise teacher that you connect with can be the key to success.
Most people don’t think of strengthening as a form of bodywork, but it can be a profound and effective tool in permanently changing the physical, emotional and energetic patterns that have been keeping us in pain. Weightlifting, Pilates, yoga, and martial arts are just a few of the techniques you can explore to strengthen and empower yourself to reduce the amount of pain you feel. You have the ability to make decisions about how you feel. You have the power to decide what your life is like. Deciding to make a change is in some ways very hard and in some ways very easy. You just have to make the decision.
By Beth Sabo Novik, LMT http://www.bsnbodywork.com