The problem with Mind, Body, Spirit approaches to health and well-being is that we are still perceiving these as separate from each other.
As a result of many years of study and research and hands-on experience of working very closely with members of the public, it is my firm belief that these aspects should NEVER be considered separately if we wish to be fully in balance and at 'peak performance.'
I am very honoured to earn my living working as a Manual Therapist. I have a good knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Over the years I have added to my knowledge and altered my treatment strategies in line with my increased understanding.
Firstly it was an in depth understanding of the muscular system, what can go wrong and how to improve it's function and fitness. Then I began to find some symptoms would keep recurring.
So I had to learn how to understand the causes in order to resolve rather than maintain muscular problems. This inevitably led me to study posture, human behaviour, the effects of emotions on the body and referred pain patterns (i.e. low back pain often will not release until the muscles in the legs are released)
We are NOT sacks of disparate parts everything is interconnected. Once this is understood, it becomes clear that there are even more subtle aspects to our anatomy and physiology.
Did you know for example that we have a vast network of connective tissue, complete with nerve receptors that react to stress and posture? Would you be surprised to learn that much chronic pain is accompanied by stubborn thickening of this connective tissue matrix?
We do not suffer pain as some sort of punishment or as a simple result of getting older. There is always a cause and where there is a cause - there will be a solution.
Unexplained Pain Syndrome is exactly that - so far unexplained.
It does not mean that seeking answers are futile nor that the pain will always be 'unexplained'. I have come across a number of people diagnosed as such, who later went on to find out what the cause of the pain was and how to resolve it.
- And I do mean resolve it, not control it or mask it!
If you or someone you love suffers from chronic pain, don't just live with it, keep searching, keep asking questions to increase your understanding.
Questions such as:
What other health and fitness issues are there?
When did the pain start?
What changed in the months leading up to the onset of the pain?
Under what circumstances does it increase?
What are you/they no longer able to do because of the pain?
What would you/they do if the pain were no longer there?
Understanding more about ourselves, our world and challenging our beliefs, is what has driven humankind this far - and I think most of us would agree that we still have a way to go!