Radiating leg pain from a lumbar disc herniation is often attributed to either mechanical compression of the nerve root by the herniated disc, and/or local inflammation. This study of 53 subjects searched for associations between pain intensity and 5 contributing factors: 1) inflammatory markers, 2) herniated disc size, 3) infection, 4) psychological factors and 5) […]
How we deal with and handle anger can have an influence on our pain levels. This recent 2022 research review article highlights that either overt anger expression like blowing up or anger suppression like holding our anger create more pain in the body. We need to learn how to deal with anger, as it’s one […]
Two of the biggest mental health issues out there are depression and anxiety. It is important to screen for both these emotional conditions as they can both manifest physically in the body with symptoms. Depression can show up in the body through various physical symptoms as seen in the article below. When I work with […]
I see a lot of people with what is being called ‘Worried Sick’. It’s where health anxiety (fear) is the driving force behind symptoms. Excessive worry, hypervigilance, combined with being an empathatic and highly sensitive person (HSP) can lead to a multitude of physical symptoms that are actually just health anxiety. Anxiety is the cause […]
Interoception is not a word that many are familiar with but it can have a big impact on your health. Interoception is the ability to ‘tune in’ to your body signals and notice what’s arising in your body sensations in an accurate way. A loss of interoception ability is highly linked with emotion regulation difficulties, […]
Authors of this study with 3000 people state that chronic pain is common in up to 70% of patients with depressive and anxiety disorders. We need to be screening for and treating both anxiety and depression as main driving factors in chronic pain. Anxiety and depression ARE emotions (fear, anger, sadness) so a big part […]
Sharing a fantastic recovery story by Dan, who has overcome so much: first spinal surgery to remove a tumor that basically paralyzed him for awhile. Then subsequent burning pain that sidelined him from living life and even being able to wear t-shirts. He found out about the brain and nervous system and Dr. Sarno- TMS […]
The role of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in chronic health disorders is massive. In this video I share a study which I link below which reviews a lot of the research from heart rate variability studies which shows dysregulation of the ANS- namely an inability to activate and stay in the parasympathetic rest and […]
Getting in touch with our feelings involves stopping and sitting with ourselves. See what’s bubbling up in terms of sensations. Be Ok with that. This is allowing the expression of what you are feeling or feeling your feelings.
We have more and more research showing that chronic pain involves the emotional centers of the brain. We also know anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD, trauma, all can cause somatic symptoms in the body. Chronic pain that does not have a structural cause is more likely to be emotional than physical. The definition of pain is […]
