Movement: The body’s natural elixir! Learn how gentle, graded motion can calm pain and restore confidence in your body.
Movement truly is the body’s natural elixir; it may sound counterintuitive, but gentle, graded movement is a powerful catalyst for healing and one of the most effective pain regulators we have.
When you move, your brain releases endorphins and activates descending inhibitory pathways; your body’s natural “brakes” on pain processing. It’s now widely accepted that pain doesn’t simply happen to the body. Pain emerges from the brain’s interpretation of a blend of internal and external signals.
Movement as a Safety Signal
When your brain perceives more signals of threat, pain intensifies; when it detects more signals of safety, pain eases. Graded, controlled movement within your comfort and tolerance acts as a powerful safety signal. In contrast, rigid muscle guarding and movement avoidance send signals of threat, reinforcing the need for protection and keeping the pain system on high alert.
Movement keeps your Brain Maps Sharp
Another fascinating layer: your brain holds motor maps that help coordinate movement. Movement itself keeps these maps sharp and up to date. When we stop moving, the maps lose precision, leading to reduced motor control and paradoxically, more pain.
The Movement Traffic Light
Of course, after an injury, your tissues do need time to heal. This doesn’t mean, however, that you need total rest. Movement within your tolerance does not cause further damage. In fact, it teaches your brain that movement can be trusted again while simultaneously activating your body’s natural pain relieving pathways.
A helpful tool to guide your movement during recovery is the Movement Traffic Light:
- Green Light (0–4/10 pain): Safe to continue. Your body is coping well.
- Orange Light (4–6/10 pain): Modify. Adjust load, duration, or effort to bring pain back below 4.
- Red Light (6+/10 pain): Stop or rest. Your body isn’t ready for that level of load yet.
At ChiroDynamics, movement is given the respect it deserves as one of the body’s natural healers. It’s a core principle in maintaining musculoskeletal health and an essential part of your path to recovery. If you want to learn more about how to maximise movement to improve your pain book now to get the help you need to restore comfort and mobility, rewire overactive pain responses and faulty movement patterns, and reclaim your quality of life and confidence in movement.
Move Well. Live Well.
*Interested in learning more about how the body heals? Visit the ChiroDynamics blog here for more insights into pain and movement.