An Interesting Look at Pain
A while back, we wrote about retraining your brain to get rid of your pain. The article’s point is to focus on pain not only as a mechanical issue (e.g., tendon or labrum tear), but as a complex interaction between different body systems, with the brain working as the central governor.
This week in The Movement, we’ll look at some interesting things that go along with the complex biopsychosocial model of pain.
First is a review done by the often outspoken physiotherapist Adam Meakins. On his Instagram, he put out a series looking at the reliability of MRIs. If you click the links below, swipe or click the right arrow to see the full post.
Click here for Part 1, which reviewed a study done on a patient with back pain. They received 10 MRIs over the course of 3 weeks. There were 49 different issues identified by the imaging, but none of them showed up on all 10 reports.
Then in Part 2, Adam reviewed a study of over 100 people with chronic shoulder pain. The study scanned both the painful and non-painful shoulders and found just as much pathology on the pain-free side!
The Change in Pain Science
As you can see from the results above, the non-painful shoulders were just as beat up as the painful ones! Adam’s conclusion to this series is accurate: “MRIs help exclude serious or sinister issues, but they DO NOT tell you what’s causing pain.”
The next stop on this look at pain is a quick video by Prof Paul Hodges.
Dr. Hodges is a world leader in movement control, pain, and rehabilitation, specifically focused on why people move differently in pain.
