I heard yet again an ad on the radio about how to alleviate your pain – someone/something else will take the pain away for you!  How perfect – I don’t have to do much or think about it at all, just pay someone and they will take it all away.

Usually not.

What is this pain you feel anyway?  Is it muscle pain?  Is it nerve pain?  Is it emotional pain?  Do you care?  You should.  Because that pain is NOT your problem, it is your symptom.  “Pain” is your body’s way of expressing to your brain that something is not right.  You touch something too hot, your nerves tell your brain “painful, pull that finger away!”  So, are you going to touch that too hot thing again? Of course, you think “No way. But what if also tastes good? Or someone is standing over you telling you to just tough it out, keep touching that hot thing if you want to be more fit?

How about instead next time your body starts to hurt in some way, before you reach for that Advil (or next rep or snack or video distraction), take a breath and ask yourself how/why does my body hurt? You might just be surprised what you learn.

And for further reading:

Cortisone – The End of an Era via the Huffington Post.