Purchase Making Sense of Pain Today!
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Making Sense of Pain is an ebook containing 50+ analogies and stories pertaining to pain and movement! This resource was created by Dr. Jim Heafner PT, DPT, OCS and Dr. Jarod Hall PT, DPT, OCS to help people gain a deeper understanding of the complex nature of pain.
It is our hope this book will reframe the way you understand pain and change the language you use when talking to others about movement and injury! |
With each analogy and metaphor covered throughout this text, you’ll find multiple stories that help relate the complex topics of pain, tissue breakdown, posture and more. While several analogies have the same underlying principle, the story and context are vastly different. By presenting the information through multiple viewpoints, you can apply each concept to different facets of your life. Through each story, you’ll notice a strong focus on the power of language. Whether you read one story or ten stories, you’ll finish this book feeling strong and empowered. While the introduction is primarily written for health and wellness providers, the following pages are designed for both the clinician and layperson.
Testimonials
Drs. Jarod Hall and Jim Heafner do a wonderful job explaining the multi-factorial experience of pain in a relatable way for the average reader and healthcare professional alike. I could not help but think of past and present patients that would benefit from reading some of the analogies and sections of the book. Making Sense of Pain is a valuable resource for clinicians to learn about pain and improve their communication skills as well as a brilliant teaching tool and reference for patients. This book should be in every rehabilitation clinic.
-Dr. Teddy Willsey, PT, DPT, CSCS
As the owner of OPTIM we have found great value in the Making Sense of Pain ebook. We have incorporated many of the analogies and ideas into our fellowship, COMT, and PTA pain science curriculum. Jim and Jarod do a great job helping people understand and articulating the complex topics such as neuroplasticity, graded exposure, and the biopsychosocial aspects of pain. If you're looking for a resource to better communicate why patients are having pain and musculoskeletal problems, this is the best I have found. EVERYONE should get a copy of the Making Sense of Pain to better help explain.
-Dana Tew PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT
Skipped section...below is an example analogy/story
(this is 1 of the 50+ analogies and stories contained in the text!)
SAMPLE PICTURES FROM THE BOOK
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Major Concepts from the Book
Pain, Movement, Central Sensitization, Neuroplasticity, and Graded Exposure
Pain
Pain, while unpleasant, is an essential part of life. It’s a personalized experience that’s heavily dictated by an individual's environment, context and belief system. With a primary purpose of protection and survival, pain can appear in all shapes and sizes. Some of these pain experiences appear to make sense, while others can leave us perplexed. Pain can prevent you from going for a jog if you sprain your knee. It can teach you that placing your hand on a hot stove is a bad idea. Pain can let you know to seek treatment if you have an infection or broken bone. Pain can also prevent you from getting out of bed if you dread your job or if you’ve recently lost a loved one. Additionally, pain can trigger you to change your lifestyle if you’ve recently had a heart attack. Pain can drive emotion and physical activity just as much as emotion and physical activity can drive pain. There’s a constant interplay between all aspects of the human body and pain impacts each person in a unique manner that’s one hundred percent dependent upon context and individual factors.
Pain, while unpleasant, is an essential part of life. It’s a personalized experience that’s heavily dictated by an individual's environment, context and belief system. With a primary purpose of protection and survival, pain can appear in all shapes and sizes. Some of these pain experiences appear to make sense, while others can leave us perplexed. Pain can prevent you from going for a jog if you sprain your knee. It can teach you that placing your hand on a hot stove is a bad idea. Pain can let you know to seek treatment if you have an infection or broken bone. Pain can also prevent you from getting out of bed if you dread your job or if you’ve recently lost a loved one. Additionally, pain can trigger you to change your lifestyle if you’ve recently had a heart attack. Pain can drive emotion and physical activity just as much as emotion and physical activity can drive pain. There’s a constant interplay between all aspects of the human body and pain impacts each person in a unique manner that’s one hundred percent dependent upon context and individual factors.
Movement
Posture is defined as “the position or bearing of the body whether characteristic or assumed for a special purpose.” In other words, it is the way someone positions their body for various activities. Those activities can include anything from sitting in a car to cleaning underneath your kitchen sink. One’s posture is the body’s position during any and all tasks. It is constantly changing and adapting to meet your current environment. When you confine your posture to a limited space, such as a car, there is minimal movement and adaptation available. Sore, achy, and fatigued muscles are a common result.
Traditionally held beliefs attempt to link “poor posture” or “bad movement” to one’s pain. However, when discussing the literature surrounding movement and tissue damage, it is evident that “good posture” appears to be mostly irrelevant to pain. In other words, the research does not support either “good” or “bad” posture. In Jim’s car example above, he was quite sore and achy despite sitting in what he understood to be “perfect posture.” Simply tucking his chin or using a small support in his low back would not have alleviated his aching muscles.
Posture is defined as “the position or bearing of the body whether characteristic or assumed for a special purpose.” In other words, it is the way someone positions their body for various activities. Those activities can include anything from sitting in a car to cleaning underneath your kitchen sink. One’s posture is the body’s position during any and all tasks. It is constantly changing and adapting to meet your current environment. When you confine your posture to a limited space, such as a car, there is minimal movement and adaptation available. Sore, achy, and fatigued muscles are a common result.
Traditionally held beliefs attempt to link “poor posture” or “bad movement” to one’s pain. However, when discussing the literature surrounding movement and tissue damage, it is evident that “good posture” appears to be mostly irrelevant to pain. In other words, the research does not support either “good” or “bad” posture. In Jim’s car example above, he was quite sore and achy despite sitting in what he understood to be “perfect posture.” Simply tucking his chin or using a small support in his low back would not have alleviated his aching muscles.
Graded Exposture
In physical medicine, there’s a common yet woefully misguided myth that the human body is much like a machine or car. This prevailing story paints a picture that depicts the human body as easily distorted, misaligned, with parts that wear out with usage. “Make sure to stay in alignment to avoid wear and tear!” “Those knees only have so many steps in them!” “Don’t lift overhead or you’ll tear your shoulders up!” This tall tale frames your body as if it’s a machine rolling off of the production line, with a set mileage capacity and depreciating in value from day one.
A myth like this makes a good business model for those who claim to be “human body mechanics,” as it requires regular hands-on treatments that “tune up” or “realign to prevent wear.” However, this misleading narrative plainly ignores the adaptive capacity for growth of living organisms.
In physical medicine, there’s a common yet woefully misguided myth that the human body is much like a machine or car. This prevailing story paints a picture that depicts the human body as easily distorted, misaligned, with parts that wear out with usage. “Make sure to stay in alignment to avoid wear and tear!” “Those knees only have so many steps in them!” “Don’t lift overhead or you’ll tear your shoulders up!” This tall tale frames your body as if it’s a machine rolling off of the production line, with a set mileage capacity and depreciating in value from day one.
A myth like this makes a good business model for those who claim to be “human body mechanics,” as it requires regular hands-on treatments that “tune up” or “realign to prevent wear.” However, this misleading narrative plainly ignores the adaptive capacity for growth of living organisms.
