Chronic pain differs from acute pain in that it often involves heightened sensitivity in the nervous system, a condition known as central sensitization. This means that the nervous system can become hypersensitive, causing even minor or non-harmful stimuli to be perceived as painful.

Chronic pain may also lead to muscle guarding (where muscles tighten around painful areas), loss of range of motion, and a decreased tolerance for activity, all of which can exacerbate pain.

Pain is a universal experience that can range from a mild, temporary sensation to chronic discomfort that affects daily life. While we often consider pain as something to avoid, it plays an essential role in alerting us to potential harm, helping protect us from further injury, and guiding healing processes. However, to understand how pain works, it’s important to explore its biological, neurological, and emotional dimensions.

Pain is a complicated beast. Recently, Rob posted a blog about pain, delving into the differences between pain and nociception and detailing how we work with both in the Movementality studio, from a physical and physiological perspective. As a Somatic Movement Therapist, as well as working with the physical and physiological components, I must also consider the psychological component of pain, and in particular, the relationship between emotion, pain and movement.

Having been in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years now, one of the most commons questions I get from a client is either A) what are my pelvic floor muscles, and B) am I meant to be using my pelvic floor muscles now?! And this stems from the fact that about 20 years or so ago, when Pilates was still in its infancy in Melbourne, it became synonymous with physiotherapy in particular, as a support tool for rehabilitating injuries - mainly those of the spine. So it got drilled into not only the practitioners, but anyone who did Pilates that they had to squeeze their pelvic floor to do Pilates! In reality, this is far from the case, and has actually become quite problematic for a lot of people, creating dysfunctional pelvic floor muscles, as well as stiff and tight backs.

Having spent the last 2 years completing my Somatic Movement Therapy training, I have had the opportunity to work with some incredible clients as they bravely unpack the chronic pain or dysfunction they experience. Not all, but many of these journeys have ultimately boiled down to unresolved trauma held within their bodies. Being able to observe and hear real time feedback from these clients about what they feel, sense, imagine and kinesthetically experience, has fueled a passion in me to try and better understand what constitutes trauma. I am especially interested in how it manifests in the body and how to best guide someone through that experience so they can regain their power and confidence.

There are so many old expressions that spring to mind when we are talking about pain, particularly in relation to exercise. ‘Pain is weakness leaving the body’ is the classic one I grew up with in the rugby sheds of New Zealand. These expressions usually revolve around the fact that being in pain creates the opportunity for us to experience growth and pleasure. Now this may have been true to those who originally made those statements, but if we are talking about pain in relation to the human body and movement, there are a few extra things to consider before pushing through to the glory we've been promised.

At the beginning of 2019, Ash decided she wanted actively progress her studies in movement therapy, undertaking a course called Advanced Clinical Training in Somatics and Dance Movement Therapy. Now, in 2020, on behalf of Movementality, Ash is pleased to now offer Somatic Movement Therapy (“SMT”) as a service. But what exactly is SMT? This is a question I hear frequently, so I’d like to take the time to break down the term SMT, what it means, and how my journey brought me into this incredible practice for embodied healing.

It's no secret in our business that I have a range of weird and wonderful tricks up my sleeve that Rob deploys at various stages to help sneak in bonus range of movement, maybe some pain relief, or perhaps just some homework to help someone see better. These little tricks are all derived from the growing Functional Neurology sector in the health industry. At its core, Functional Neurology is designed to work from the perspective of training the brain for balancing and normalising excess electrical charge in our naturally electrical system. The particular stream Rob has decided to go down offers both the physical training ideas that balance our sensory system, as well as a therapeutic approach to calibrate points of elevated charge, most often associated with pain or dysfunction, and create space for the body to heal in its own time. The main company I've trained with recently put together a 'retreat' in Thailand so people from all over the world could meet, practice on each other and learn new skills while refining old ones. Safe to say I've come home with a few more tricks up my sleeve!