Pain is essential for survival—it exists to protect us, promote healing, and signal when something’s wrong. However, it becomes a problem if it lingers for too long or causes us to stop moving. In fact, nearly half of Americans over the age of 50 experience such severe joint pain that negatively impact daily activities. Stanford researcher and physical therapist Corey Rovzar, PhD, DPT offers practical tips and some hope for those with chronic joint pain.
“If you have joint pain, the first step to feeling better is to understand how pain is perceived, then you can start working with it,” says Dr. Rovzar.
The experience of pain begins with local tissue damage, such as from an injury or arthritis. This damage activates the nociceptor cells, which are sensory neurons that send “possible threat” signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain then interprets the stimulus as sensations such as hot or cold, achy or sharp. The brain also determines whether the stimulus is an actual threat and warrants an experience of pain. For example, if you have knee joint damage, the brain creates the sensation of pain to direct your attention to the knee so that you can address the “threat”. This process is called nociception.
Since pain is processed in the brain, research shows that lifestyle behaviors influencing brain health, such as how you eat, sleep, and think, can shape the way you experience pain. Therefore, Dr. Rovzar encourages her patients to adopt healthy lifestyle changes as a way to help reduce their pain.
“Since pain is processed in the brain, it’s influenced by our mental state, which we have some control over,” says Dr. Rovzar. “When we eat well, get better sleep, and lower our stress, the level of pain we experience sometimes decreases. For example, people with depression are two to three times more likely to develop chronic pain.”
Pain can also be exacerbated by local inflammatory mediators, known as cytokines. In the short term, these inflammatory mediators guide the body to clear our damaged tissues and promote healing. However, when they are present for too long, they may contribute to ongoing joint damage, stiffness, and pain.
Is this safe to take long-term, or should I cycle off it every few weeks?
Is this suitable for a ‘natural’ lifter or is it overkill?
Finally, a thread that explains the science behind the dosage. Very helpful.
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