People with chronic pain often feel restricted in their movement due to pain. In some cases this is a good thing as restricting your movement avoids aggravating the injury and delaying the healing process. But in people with a sensitised nervous system where the bodies “pain amplifier” is turned up too high avoiding movement can cause a range of other problems. A sensitised nervous system does not mean your pain “is all in your head”. Your injury and pain is real, but the nervous system is a factor that needs understanding and treatment. The right movements, exercises and activities will actually de-sensitise the nervous system. Think of someone who is extremely scared of spiders. A de-sensitisation approach involves very very slowly exposing them to spiders in the following sequence:

1. Think about a friendly daddy longlegs spider for 30 seconds, twice a day. Slowly increase this to 2 minutes, three times a day. Then go back to 30 seconds and think about a huntsman (more threatening and the spider that is most feared). Build up to 2 minutes

2. Repeat the process above but use a picture of the daddy longlegs and huntsman

3. Repeat the process above with a plastic (friendly looking) spider in the corner of a room and progress to a huntsman. This can be progressed to bringing the spider closer

4. The final stage can involve watching a video of a huntsman. Once this can be done for 2 minutes at a time sufficient desensitisation will have occurred to allow the person to see a huntsman in real life from a distance

This same approach can be taken with movements, exercises and activities in a graded activity and exercise program. The Advance Online Pain Management can help you on the journey of recovery through learning to move well through a process of de-sensitisation to gradually increasing exercises and activities. The following resources are useful to read, listen to and engage with over your pain management program. Thinking about how this information might apply to your situation and discussing this with your Advance practitioner will greatly assist in your recovery.

1. Understanding the different contributing factors to your pain problem is the first step as explained in this info sheet and also an interactive online learning module. If you really want an in depth discussion on a sensitive nervous system check out this fascinating article from The Guardian

2. Graded activity and exercise - a gradual process of increasing activity and exercise is necessary for all injuries to recover and in particular to de-senstise your nervous system. With a sensitised nervous system it may be necessary to push into your pain gently to enable a slow build up your strength. Your Advance practitioner will carefully monitor this during your pain management program as knowing when to push and when to hold back can be tricky. This info sheet explains more about graded activity and exercise

3. Mindfulness - mindfulness is a simple method of becoming more “present” and in the process letting go of thoughts, feelings and emotions that may be a part of your pain problem. This sheet outlines some simple mindfulness exercises plus explores Smiling Minds as an app that has a range of exercises specifically designed to help with managing your pain

4. Your mood or thoughts may be contributing to your pain. Ask yourself the question “when my mood is low is my pain worse?” If the answer is yes, some of the info sheets on mood and thoughts may be helpful

If you require this information in a different language, please contact your Advance practitioner.