Do you have pain with DDD?

Degenerative Disc Disease

For some people this can be painful...for others, not so much.

Ever wonder why that is?  Pain is a perception and a sensation.  The pain you feel is real, but there are many factors that can contribute to it.

1. Do you have protruding, bulging, or ruptured discs?  Depending on the severity, this can press on nerves that are coming out of the spine.

2. Has the degeneration caused the vertebrae to rub bone on bone?

3. Has your body tried to stabilize itself by forming bone spurs that limit your range of motion?

4. How about your emotional response to your pain?  Is that a thing?  Actually it is.

Pain is a normal sensation inside your body.  It's a defense mechanism.  It tells you to stop what you are doing.  I'm betting that 100% of the time, it works.  Now how is that related to your emotional response?  Emotions are tied very deeply to your memories and beliefs (good and bad).  Anything that causes stress in your body will trigger an adrenaline response (fight or flight) which triggers cortisol production.  This is normal, when you actually need to fight or flight to survive.  But seriously, how often is that?

Chronic pain (stress) can cause a chronic surge of cortisol in your body increasing your pain.  So when your doctor says "your imaging isn't that bad, you shouldn't be hurting like this"...I think it's the wrong way to say this.  

Your pain is real, but perception of your pain is controllable.  This is why some people have DDD and don't feel pain.  What I would like the doctors to say is "Your imaging looks like there is some degeneration happening, and you are clearly in pain.  How does this pain make you feel?  Describe your emotions for me."  I think if you dig deep, you'll find the negative emotions, memories and beliefs associated with your pain perception.

This is actually one of the many ways to learn how to MASTER your chronic pain.  Yes there is the physical part (alignment, movement, fascia work, strength, flexibility, range of motion, etc) but there is also the brain part and the biochemical pathways that have become automatic over years of a stress response triggering this very profoundly ingrained mechanism inside our bodies.

What are your thoughts?

I'd love to know.

Want to learn more about this?  Join Start Living Again! online course today. 

Yes I want to learn how to MASTER my chronic pain

Nicole