Understanding the Body–Mind Connection with Pain

Many of us grow up believing the body is like a machine — if something hurts, something must be broken. But the human body isn’t a car with replaceable parts. We are living, adaptive, self-healing beings. Pain is not always a sign of damage. In fact, around 90% of ongoing pain does not come from structural injury.

This is where body–mind therapy becomes essential. Because pain is not purely physical — it is also shaped by the nervous system, emotions, past experiences, and the meaning we attach to what we feel.

Most physical injuries have an expected healing time. A sprain, for example, usually settles within 6–8 weeks. But if it continues long after tissues have healed, something else is happening.

This is common in conditions such as:

• Chronic pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Long-standing back, neck, or joint pain
• Pain after medical tests show “nothing wrong”

In many of these cases, the pain is not caused by damage in the body — it’s generated or amplified by the nervous system.

The Three Types of Pain

Understanding pain helps us treat it more effectively. Broadly speaking, pain can come from:

1. Nociceptive
   Physical tissue irritation — like a bruise, sprain, or muscle pull.
2. Neurogenic / neuropathic
   Related to nerves themselves — such as sciatica or nerve compression.
3. Neuroplastic (or central) 
   Generated within the nervous system.
   The body is safe, but the brain interprets sensations as painful.

A classic example is phantom limb pain — when someone feels pain in a limb that is no longer there. There is no tissue to damage. The pain is real — but its source is the nervous system.

This is the same mechanism present in many forms of chronic pain.

How the Brain Influences Pain

We all have a subtle awareness of our body — warmth, heaviness, presence. These sensations come from the brain’s internal “map” of the body.

But this map is influenced by:

• Past injuries
• Stress and emotional load
• Fear surrounding pain (“What if this gets worse?”)
• Family stories (“My dad had back pain and was never the same.”)
• Medical experiences
• Beliefs about the body

A small twinge can become something the nervous system interprets as a threat, which can lead to tension, guarding, and more pain. This reaction is not conscious — it is protective.

Pain is always real. But it’s source is not always physical.

During my training, entire conference days were spent discussing how to measure pain – and the conclusion was clear – we can’t truly measure pain using a number. It is:

• Physical
• Emotional
• Cognitive
• Sensory
• And even existential

The common “rate your pain 1–10” scale simply cannot express the quality or meaning of pain. Someone’s pain may become duller, softer, or more manageable over time — but this shift is rarely captured numerically.

This is one reason body–mind therapy is so valuable — it meets pain as an experience, not just a symptom.

You Are Not Broken

If pain is neuroplastic or related to nervous system sensitisation, then you do not need fixing. This is important.

Surgery, aggressive manual therapy, or endless structural treatments are not always the solution — because there may be nothing physically wrong to “correct.”

Instead, the focus becomes:

• Calming the nervous system
• Restoring safety in the body
• Rebuilding trust in movement
• Reconnecting mind, body, and lived experience
• This is the heart of body–mind therapy.

My Work with Chronic Pain and Long-Term Conditions

The Grange, Wokingham specialises in supporting people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, complex conditions, and nervous system dysregulation.

The work is gentle, collaborative, and tailored.
We explore the physical, neurological, and emotional layers of your experience — without assuming the problem is simply “in your head.”

Pain is real. And there are ways to change the way it is processed.

If your pain has persisted and the usual treatments haven’t helped, there is another approach. You do not have to do this alone.

You can watch my video on this on my YouTube channel. Just click on this link: https://youtu.be/wZ-OnTqAN2s?si=z-CHlPSFORYnU_3k

Find our more about how therapies at the Grange can help you recover from your chronic pain condition: https://thegrangehealth.com/trauma-physio/