We've covered a lot of territory so far - both on and off the mat.
We explored new+ emerging science of pain and experimented with a lot of different movement
techniques. Yet, all the tools, tips, techniques and knowledge are no good if they're just gathering dust...
There is an ebb and a flow to living with persistent pain - some days (or even weeks and months) we have the energy to use the practice.... and some days we just want to drop our arms, sigh, and give up.
I've discovered a secret weapon that helped (and still periodically does!) me deal with those kinda "sigh - and give up" days, and find my way back to my toolkit.
I think it is a great fit for today's lesson!
MIRROR TECHNIQUE comes from Dr. Moskowitz, one of the leaders in neuroscience of pain field, who now believes in PAIN CURE instead of mere pain management.
Motivation
Intention
Relentlessness
Reliability
Opportunity
Restoration
Let’s take a look at each one in a more detail:
MOTIVATION: most chronic pain patients go to their doctors (therapists, chiropractors, etc) with a passive attitude toward their pain. We have been trained to submit to test, pills, and procedures. With this new approach, patient must become active – read about how pain develops, and take charge of his or her treatment. Motivation is especially difficult when the flare up happens, so the trick is to
use each attack of pain as a motivator, an opportunity to apply the technique.
INTENTION: the immediate intention is not to get rid of pain; it is to learn how to focus the mind to change the brain. Thinking that the immediate reward will be pain reduction will make it hard to get there, because that reward comes
slowly. In the early stages what counts is the mental effort to change.
RELENTLESSNESS: pain is relentless; you should be too. It may seem that on the onset of pain it is easier to find a distraction or pop the pill. Unfortunately, trying to distract yourself with work or what have you is not a strong enough focus to
break the stronghold of chronic pain. Research into neuroplasticity shows that intense focus is required to alter the brain circuits and make new connections. Relentlessness means: every time pain is detected you push back with full focus, and with the specific intention of rewiring the brain. No exceptions. No negotiations with pain.
RELIABILITY: this is a reminder that brain is not the enemy. For psychological reasons, when in pain, the sufferer feels penalized and tormented by it; fortunately, except for some rare cases, the brain and nervous are not “trying to punish” the person in pain. The pain evolved to protect; it is an alarm system, not an enemy. When unconscious systems are not enough to solve the brain / body problem, we have to bring in conscious control in the form of the new learning.
OPPORTUNITY: meaning turning each pain episode into the opportunity to repair the faulty alarm system.
RESTORATION: means that the goal
isn’t to mask pain or take the edge off it, but to restore normal brain function.
