Hip/Knee Arthritis Pain & Disability More Related to the Mind Than to the Body
Anyone wondering about knee or hip arthritis and it's relationship to the mind vs. the body- Here I go over a recent May 2021 study which (authors quote): "confirms that limitations and pain from osteoarthritis…
Study Validates the Connection Between Emotions, Pain and the Brain
Stumbled upon this 2020 study that really brings the mind-body connection into focus on many levels. These researchers took fMRI scans of the brain while inflicting a painful stimulus to the arm and at…
PTSD, COVID, & Sense of Threat Associated With Somatic Symptoms
With COVID, there has naturally been an elevated sense of stress and fear for many. Those who have had a history of PTSD already have been shown to have a high rates of physical somatic symptoms. This…
Trauma, Stress, Catastrophizing & Somatic Complaints
Interesting study that supports what I see in many people with chronic somatic complaints. What this study showed was what we already know: potentially traumatic events can lead to post-traumatic stress…
Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Intensity Related to Sympathetic Activity
Another reminder that sympathetic fight of flight nervous system is at the heart of chronic musculoskeletal pain like we see in fibromyalgia. This is study found "the higher the sympathetic drive to the…
Worrying intensity predicts the number of somatic complaints
A lot of the people I work with have an increased tendency to worry, whether it's about their symptoms or about things in life. Worry by itself can cause more somatic symptoms. I've linked a study below…
Let it Be: Mindful Acceptance Reduces Pain and Emotion
This study from 2020 https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/14/11/1147/5716281 shows how the role of accepting pain and negative emotions reduces the intensity of both these things. One of the primary…
Stress Axis in Brain and Nervous System Induce Chronic Pain
A review study here highlighting how a stressed out brain and nervous system create chronification of pain. The HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal) axis in the brain (limbic brain) influences changes…
Sympathetic Nervous System Dysfunction in Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, & Interstitial Cystitis
Continuing on the theme that most chronic disease is caused by an overactive sympathetic (fight, flight, freeze) nervous system and an inability to turn on and keep on the parasympathetic (rest, digest,…
People with Chronic Pain Aren’t Activating the Rest, Digest, and Relax Nervous System
We have clear evidence from heart rate variability studies that people with chronic pain are in the fight, flight or freeze autonomic nervous system state (sympathetic state) and have a hard time activating…
