Pain Isn’t Just an Alarm... It’s an Experience Your Whole Life Shapes
Pain is Real
It’s a multi-faceted experience, much like the complexity and depth found within people themselves.
Pain is real, but it isn’t a simple readout from injured tissue. What you feel is your nervous system’s running commentary on threat, shaped by sleep, stress, beliefs, hormones, movement load, diet, age, and health history. That’s why the same scan or diagnosis can affect different people in completely different ways.
The big ideas in modern pain science
Gate Control Theory (1965)
Pain signals face a “gate” in the spinal cord. Touch, movement, or signals from the brain can close it slightly, so pain feels softer.
👉 Melzack & Wall, Science 1965
Neuromatrix Theory
Pain is the output of a brain-wide network that integrates body signals with memory, mood, and meaning... context matters.
👉 Melzack, Pain 1999
Central Sensitization
The nervous system can turn itself up: harmless signals become painful, and pain lingers even after healing. It’s neuroplasticity, not imagination.
👉 Woolf, Pain 2011
Predictive Processing
The brain is a prediction machine. What you expect influences what you feel... expectations can dial pain up or down.
👉 Büchel et al., Neuron 2014
Fear-Avoidance Model
Pain makes us stop; avoidance can weaken tissues, erode confidence, and reinforce pain. Getting moving, safely, matters.
👉 Vlaeyen & Linton, Pain 2000
Why scans don’t equal pain
Many “degenerative” features such as disc bulges, tears, or arthritis are common in people without pain and increase with age:
Disc degeneration: 37% at age 20 vs 96% at age 80
Disc bulges: 30% at age 20 vs 84% at age 80
Scans offer detail, not destiny. Your story matters too.
Human factors that shape pain
Sleep. A single bad night lowers pain thresholds... chronic poor sleep revs up sensitivity.
👉 Krause et al., J Neurosci 2019
Stress load. Short-term stress can numb; chronic stress sensitises. Calm is biological medicine.
👉 Blackburn-Munro, Trends Pharmacol Sci 2001
Beliefs and attention. Catastrophizing correlates with more pain. Positive framing and graded exposure help... expectations genuinely modulate pain.
👉 Quartana et al., Psychol Bull 2009
Movement dose. Exercise often lowers pain sensitivity, but too much too soon can backfire.
👉 Naugle et al., Front Physiol 2012
Diet and alcohol. Obesity and inflammation prolong back pain... heavy drinking risks neuropathy.
👉 Shiri et al., Am J Epidemiol 2010
👉 Julien et al., Lancet Neurol 2018
Hormones. Estrogen withdrawal is a known trigger for menstrual migraine... hormones shape how pain is processed.
👉 MacGregor et al., Headache 2006
Adjunctive options: CHM, Acupuncture, and LLLT
Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM)
Research into CHM for chronic pain is growing, especially in arthritis and cancer pain management. When combined with Western analgesics, CHM can enhance pain relief and reduce side effects.
👉 Wang et al., Bibliometric analysis 2025
Evidence suggests CHM improves nerve conduction velocity and reduces pain scores in diabetic neuropathy... with fewer adverse events than conventional care.
👉 Song et al., Frontiers in Pharmacology 2023
Positive results are also seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, where CHM reduces pain and medication side effects.
👉 Yang et al., Sci Rep 2022
Acupuncture
Meta-analyses show acupuncture benefits musculoskeletal pain, chronic headaches, and osteoarthritis compared to usual care. Sham-controlled trials suggest the body’s opioid systems play a role.
👉 Vickers et al., Arch Intern Med 2012
Brain imaging indicates acupuncture alters pain-related brain physiology... increasing availability of natural pain-relieving receptors.
👉 Napadow et al., review 2016
Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)
LLLT, also called cold laser therapy, reduces pain in acute and chronic neck pain and knee osteoarthritis. Improvements can last for weeks after treatment.
👉 Gross et al., Cochrane Review 2013
👉 Stausholm et al., BMJ Open 2019
LLLT is non-invasive, low-risk, and may modulate inflammation at a cellular level.
👉 Lee et al., Integr Med Res 2023
Practical take-homes
Sleep is treatment. Keep a routine, sleep dark and cool, track trends.
Calm over chaos. Breathwork, nature, mindful routines reduce threat.
Move wisely. Pick something you can do on tough days... build gradually.
Eat with care. Lean protein, plants, omega-3s, fewer ultra-processed foods.
Mind beliefs. Notice catastrophizing and replace with small, safe exposures.
Use adjuncts as enablers. CHM, acupuncture, and LLLT can ease pain, support recovery, and improve tolerance for lifestyle changes.
Bottom line
Pain isn’t a weakness... it’s a signal shaped by your body, brain, and the life you live. The more you understand, the more options you have. Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, and LLLT can play a valuable role alongside conventional care.