# Ways in which the body physically adapts ##### Untangling Pain ---  --- ## tl;dr **How the danger alarm system becomes overprotective** - The danger alarm system can become overly protective in chronic or persistent pain - This creates physical changes in the body that keep protecting us even when we don’t need it **Physical adaptations that increase sensitivity** **1. More fire alarms** - Increase in nociceptors in areas of perceived threat - One fire alarm becomes five - Like the snake bite analogy - body overprotects the area **2. Fire alarms stay on longer** - Even after healing, the alarms can keep sounding - Pain continues months after injury - Doesn’t mean re-injury...alarm just hasn’t shut off **3. Sensors near nerves** - Sensors are placed right next to nerves - Tiny movements or touch can trigger danger signals - Like putting your fire alarm above the toaster **4. Amplified signals** - Spinal cord acts like an amplifier - Message to brain is louder than it should be - Child analogy: screaming through a microphone even for small movements **5. Distorted signals** - One danger signal becomes many - Spinal cord keeps repeating the message - Fire alarm turns off, but the child keeps screaming **Chronic pain and the nervous system** - These changes are common in chronic pain - Pain system is brilliant when we’re actually in danger - But the brain can get the wrong info - Brain thinks there’s more danger than there is - Often no damage in the tissues...problem is in the central nervous system --- ## Transcript The danger alarm system can sometimes end up overly protective. This is in the case of chronic or persistent pain. As a result of this over protectiveness, physical changes are created in the body. And they're created in order to continue to protect us, even when we don't need it. This can result in the body becoming more sensitive. One of the things when I started learning about this danger alarm system, I wanted to understand the physical side. I wanted to understand how we could actually become more sensitive. Because if I could understand how we became more sensitive, then I could understand how we become less sensitive to things. And hopefully improve that pain response. This is something that's helped massively with clients to understand this aspect as well. We're going to look at some of the ways in which the body physically adapts to protect us. The first one, there is an increase in the number of fire alarms. When there is an increase in threat to the body, this may be real or perceived by the brain, then there will be an increase in the number of fire alarms or nociceptors created in that area. This means that instead of having just one fire alarm in one area, like we initially started off with, we might have now five fire alarms. Going back to that sort of snake analogy, when he was bitten by the snake, the body goes, "Oh my God, we can't have this happen again. Let's put lots of fire alarms in that area". So then when the stick stroked against his leg, there were more fire alarms to be set off. So that's what this means. Another way that the body can adapt is that the fire alarms stay on for longer. When the fire alarms do get set off, they keep sounding for longer. This means that even when the threat has passed, the danger message can still come through. So you've burnt the toast again, but it's been ages since then, but the fire alarm still continues on and on and on. Or the house was on fire, so with a lot of clients, they have injured themselves, they've hurt their knee doing a race or whatever it is. So the house was on fire, but it's been six months since then. The body has physically healed. But the fire alarm is still sounding. So this, again, is where we can still have pain, even when the injury was months and months and months ago. It doesn't necessarily mean you have re injured yourself. It may mean that the fire alarm is still sounding. Another way that the body physically adapts is that it places sensors right next to the nerves. This means that when the nerves fire, they do so right next to the sensors. Which then causes them to be set off a lot sooner. This can increase the sensitivity within our body and it might mean that even touching the skin or tiny little movements can cause this danger message to be sent to the brain. This would be a bit like putting your fire alarm right above the toaster in your kitchen. The alarm is going to pick up information instantly, even when the danger isn't really a danger at all. Number four, the danger message is amplified. When the alarm is set off, the message is sent to the spinal cord first, the child, before it gets to the brain, the parent. When there is an increased threat to the body, whether real or perceived, the spinal cord can act as an Amplifier. This means that the message gets sent louder to the brain. So instead of the child just telling the parent politely that there may be a danger because the fire alarm is going off, the child now is literally having a complete meltdown, and screaming and screaming and screaming through a  microphone, "Mum. Help. Something scary is happening" The brain goes, ooh, okay, so this is a big loud message. This message can be sent louder. So even if we've just done a tiny little movement and we're worried that this tiny little movement causes this pain to be produced and we're going, oh my god, this tiny movement is causing damage to our body. It's not. It's not what's happening. Your spinal cord is there with an amplifier screaming that something's happening. But it's not. It's not happening like that. But that is how it can feel. And this is why it's so important to know this information. So we can know what's going on in our body and not be scared by movement. And not be scared by pain. Because pain can be scary. And it is scary at times. But actually, that's not always the case. Number five, the signal from the spinal cord can also be distorted. There may only be one danger message in the spinal cord, with one fire alarm sounding. But the spinal cord sends many danger messages to the brain. The child now is screaming, "Mum, the house is on fire! Mum, the house is on fire!  Mum , the house is on fire!" The fire alarm's gone off. And then it's turned off. And it's calmed down. But the spinal cord, the child is still screaming, "Fire alarm! The house is on fire! The house is on fire! House is on fire! House on fire! House on fire!". And it's constant. So the signal from the spinal cord can be distorted. So if you're having pain produced and you've done a little tiny movement and you've gone, Oh my God, I am damaging my body. It may not be the case. It may be that the child is literally screaming, screaming, screaming with a microphone. Constantly on repeat and that's what's happening. I'm hoping that helps you to understand how the body physically adapts to these changes. And how the body physically adapts and makes us more sensitive. These changes are almost always a feature in chronic and persistent pain. The whole alarm system is designed to help us. And it is brilliant and a phenomenal and an exceptional design. When we're actually injured. And when we are actually in danger. Pain is normal, and it is vital for our survival. But the process behind it can sometimes be altered. Sometimes the brain is being given the wrong information. It's having this increase in sensitivity in this central nervous system, in the brain and the spinal cord. The brain is being told that there is more danger than there actually is. Or the brain perceives that there is more danger than there actually is. Or perceives that there is going to be more danger than there actually is, based on everything it knows. So this is what happens with chronic and persistent pain. More often than not, there is no physical damage in the muscles, in the tissues. But it's a central nervous system that has been distorted, and that's what we need to influence. That's what we need to improve and change. --- Next lesson → [[Untangling Pain – Module 1 Lesson 05|next lesson]] %% - [[The Danger Alarm System and Chronic Pain]] - [[Ways the Body Physically Adapts to Protect Us]] - [[Sensitisation and Chronic Pain]]