Pain is a very personal and complex process. Understanding what pain is and why it happens can help with recovery to injury.
What the Sympathetic Nervous System Does
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is responsible for the fight-or-flight responses in our body when we perceive a threat or stress to our body.
When sympathetic activation occurs, the following responses happen in order to protect the body and literally be ready to fight, and conserve energy by slowing down non-essential functions:
↑ heart rate
↑ blood pressure
↑ respiration
↓ digestion
Release of adrenaline
This is the opposite of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), also known as the rest-and-digest response.
How Pain and the Nervous System Are Connected
As much as pain feels like a bad thing, it actually has a purpose. Pain is the body’s protector.
Pain is produced to protect our body from tissue damage. It plays a role to protect.
So when pain is elicited in the body, the SNS is stimulated as well– Because the SNS is activated when a threat is perceived.
What Happens in Your Body When Pain Activates the Stress Response
Let’s talk about how pain happens…
First off we need to understand the pathway in which pain is created.
When the body receives a sensation on the body that signal goes from the body part touched, to the spinal cord, and up to the brain.
The brain makes sense of that information based on the current situation and past experience to determine if there is a threat.
If the brain deems the stimulus a threat, the brain produces a pain signal to be sent to the body part in order to protect the body and get it to move away from the stimulus.
Acute Pain vs. Chronic Pain
Acute pain occurs immediately after a threat and in the context of an injury, occurs immediately as tissue damage happens.
That signal is helpful in protecting the body.
For example, imagine you fall while skiing and break your leg. You experience immediate pain because your body is signaling you to stop moving to prevent further damage. That is pain’s purpose.
Now let’s use a house alarm analogy to better explain chronic pain.
Chronic pain is different from acute pain because we know that the threat of tissue damage is gone once the initial injury is healed (approximately 6-8 weeks after the fracture in the skiing example).
Of course each case is unique, but I think you get the point.
Pain is the body’s protector in the same way a house alarm protects the home.
So when a burglar breaks a window, the alarm goes off and everyone gets out safely. The alarm did its job, protecting the home– just like pain protects the body.
But pain isn’t always productive, and does not always indicate tissue damage–in chronic pain in particular.
So back to the house… the repair guy comes and fixes the window within a couple weeks, just like the body heals.
But now the house alarm is worried about something damaging the house again. Now the alarm wants to be extra vigilant to protect the house so it increases its sensitivity.
This can happen to the nervous system subconsciously after trauma.
Now when a wind storm blows through and a leaf hits the window the alarm goes off. This is no longer helpful because the leaf was not a threat. The same thing can happen in the body with chronic pain.
Signs Your Nervous System Is Stuck in Fight or Flight
Your nervous system can be stuck in fight or flight for multiple reasons including mental and/or physical stressors. That constant sympathetic response isn't ideal for daily life.
Some signs that you are stuck in fight or flight include:
Pain throughout the body
Moodiness
Muscle tension
Brain fog
Anxiety
Constipation from ↓ digestion
↑ heart rate and respiration
How Pain Keeps the Cycle Going
Pain triggers the fight or flight nervous system, and vice versa. It can be a vicious cycle!
And the more your body produces pain, the better it gets at producing it.
When you start anticipating pain or expecting it to happen with certain activities, the more your SNS system is triggered.
Ways to Calm the Nervous System
In order to turn off the SNS, we need to stimulate the parasympathetic (PNS), AKA rest and digest nervous system.
The PNS is responsible for:
↓ heart rate
↓ blood pressure
↑ digestion
One voluntary way we can do that is through diaphragmatic breathing because of the PNS’s connection to the diaphragm.
Another technique that helps down regulates the SNS is vagus nerve stimulation. The vagus nerve is responsible for managing PNS functions and pain management usually has some component of vagus nerve stimulation.
How Physical Therapy Helps
Physical therapy can help you down-regulate your sympathetic nervous system by helping you train your nervous system that movement is safe.
A PT can also teach you how to perform diaphragmatic breathing, and how to stimulate your vagus nerve.
Physical therapy’s role is to address pain and improve function, so by decreasing pain, physical therapy can decrease your SNS activation breaking the pain cycle.
Where to Find Physical Therapy for Acute and/or Chronic Pain in The Lakes Region of NH
If you are local to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and are interested in working together to address chronic pain or your sympathetic nervous system, book a discovery call or eval to get started with treatment today!
I would love to help you get past any acute or chronic pain conditions.
My office is conveniently located in downtown Meredith, and I offer individualized physical therapy for active folks who are looking for a trauma-informed, gentle, and caring approach.
To get started, feel free to book online. If you have questions before you begin, feel free to contact me or book your free discovery call.