I believe that for most of us pain and fear are closely linked. Are they locked together? All recent attempts by scientists to define pain include reference to emotion. Imaging studies of the brain have shown a very close anatomical connection between parts of the brain activated by fear and those … [Read more...]

As a child I had no fear of going to the dentist until I had a tooth pulled without local anesthetic. Afterward it took years before I stopped flinching at the mere thought of going to the dentist. Getting me to go, even for a check up, became a trial. The point of telling you this is to give an … [Read more...]

If we accept that pain and fear interact with each other in a vicious cycle, each magnifying the other, it follows that whatever may reduce one may also reduce the other. One might even say that it is the very strength of their bond that allows us to weaken it. This is not so paradoxical as it … [Read more...]

Increasing Performance (#4-Pain and Fear) Repeated practice of imagining oneself successfully performing a task leads to improvement in task performance. Mental rehearsal of physical movements alone can actually increase strength. Combined with repeated physical practice of performing the same … [Read more...]

Drugs, injections and even surgery can be used to directly attack the pain side of the pain-fear equation and should therefore not be ignored despite their potential for short or long term side effects. In fact any treatment that can provide sustained pain relief may be useful if it facilitates … [Read more...]

In our pain group sessions there are sometimes people who can barely participate or who say they cannot sit or stand with biomechanically correct posture because of pain. Although the postures we teach are those that put the least amount of stress on the neck, back and other parts of the body, these … [Read more...]

Let me summarize this series: the neurological and physiological changes caused by pain and fear bond them together. Fear and pain magnify each other. The fear of pain leads to avoidance of activity that is self-reinforcing. So-called pain behavior and non-organic signs, common in chronic pain … [Read more...]