"Why does it hurt?"
The Interesting Science of Pain
by Dawn K. Donovan, RMT

People often ask me, "Why does that hurt?"

It’s not an easy question to answer. Pain is your body's response to injury or disease and usually serves as a protective warning system. Normally, when a problem occurs somewhere in your body, special nerve endings called "nociceptors" send messages to your brain that are processed as pain signals. Once the problem is identified and treated, the pain signals usually stop.

Pain that is chronic, however, persists or recurs for weeks, months or even years, and is most often locked in soft tissue serving no useful purpose. Almost one in five Canadians live with chronic pain, mostly women and the elderly.*

There are many types of pain, and still much we don’t know about what stimulates it. Cramps, radiating pain from organs, trigger point referral patterns, amputee ghost pain, the extreme pain sensitivities of people with fibromyalgia — all of these are poorly understood pain phenomena.

The most common type of pain in the world is the pain of "knots" in your muscles, stiff necks and throbbing backs. It is thought that tight muscles strangle their own blood supply, restricting the amount of metabolic waste that can be flushed away. The toxic tissue fluid then aggravates the nociceptors (nerve endings), and the pain cycle begins again. Pain may be acute or chronic, a dull ache that may radiate, down the legs for example. It may be worsened by certain movements or by inactivity.

The most common pain is low back pain. This is usually the result of strain to the muscles and ligaments that support the spine. Misaligned vertebrae are mainly a result of soft tissue tugging on them. This is usually due to over-exertion and lifting but poor posture, inactivity, muscle tension, poor muscle tone and being overweight can also contribute.

Other causes of low back pain could be a 'slipped disc' (when the disc between the vertebrae ruptures and pushes on the nerves in the spinal cord), inflammation, as in arthritis - or internal disease such as kidney infection or tumours.

What about muscle pain the day after a workout? This kind of pain is called delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOM). A hard workout causes microscopic tissue damage ("microtrauma"), and the release of lactic acid, which in turn leaves us with what we call pain or stiffness. A good stretch routine before and after a workout, as well as plenty of water will lessen DOM soreness.

For most people the cause of the pain is likely less complicated than they think i.e. muscular pain is very common.

The body has tremendous powers of healing and can resolve the pain without the need for aggressive external interference. Staying active, moving your muscles and avoiding excessive bed rest is the key to a rapid recovery. In the majority of cases no damage has been done, and therefore there is no need to be concerned or over anxious. Develop a daily stretch routine.

Keep in mind that bones go where muscles put them, and bones stay where muscles keep them. You get better milage from your body if you’re properly aligned.

A survey by Consumer Reports readers published in May 2000 found that 35% of 46,860 respondents had used alternative therapies for a variety of problems. The back-pain patients rated deep-tissue massage, chiropractic treatment, exercise, and physical therapy (in that order) as more effective than prescription drugs, acupuncture, over-the-counter drugs, and other forms of treatment.

Muscle question?
Ask a muscle specialist.

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My elbow hurts!
Dealing with tennis/golfers elbow!

*Almost one in five Canadians live with chronic pain, mostly women and the elderly. Canadian Back Institute