The Myth of Ageing

Stiffness, aches and pains seem to increase as you get older, and it's common to dismiss these symptoms as an inevitable part of ageing.

You might even get X-rays or an MRI scan that shows wear and tear changes to joints or herniated discs, which appears to confirm the "ageing damages the body" narrative.

But, and it's a BIG BUT, these images can only depict the bones and joints. 

What moves bones and joints? ANSWER = Muscles
And what tells the muscles how to behave? ANSWER = The brain and nervous system

So, the seemingly permanent structural changes you see on scan images are often the result of the brain losing the ability to sense and control certain muscles (SENSORY MOTOR AMNESIA), which changes your movement from efficient to stiff and painful.

You can reverse these structural changes and restore easy movement by teaching your brain to be aware of these forgotten muscles and regain conscious control of them. 

To learn how to release chronic muscle tension, let's dive into the little known phenomenon of Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA).

Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA)

Sensory = Feeling

Motor = Moving

Amnesia = Forget

Quite literally, SMA is the brain forgetting how to sense and move skeletal muscles - the muscles that move bones.

SMA is a adaptation to stress, injury, surgery, immobility - basically, everything you experience during your life.

The more you experience, the more likely you are to accumulate SMA, and go on to develop persistent muscle tension and chronic pain.

Have a look at this illustration showing how SMA develops:

The job of a muscle is to contract and move 2 bones closer together. Then it relaxes and the bones return to their original position., You see this as a movement of a joint.

For example, the biceps muscle contracts to pull the forearm closer to the upper arm to bring a cup closer to your mouth to take a drink or perform a bicep curl exercise. The it relaxes to lower the arm.

A healthy muscle can contract fully to 100%, and relax back to 0% tonus. You see and feel this as a full range of motion at that joint.

Let's say in your 20's you sprain your ankle and limp for a few weeks until the pain wears off. The discomfort of the injury leads to your muscles contracting by 10% to protect the injured area. After a few weeks, you no longer notice this held tension and this 10% contraction moves under the control of the subcortex (subconscious part of the brain). Now you can only consciously contract 90% of the muscle. You probably won't notice much difference in your movement at this stage.

Now, in your 30's you trip whilst running and need surgery to repair a damaged knee ligament. This results in several weeks of immobility whilst you recover from the operation. 40% of the muscle is now held in a continual state of contraction, so you can only contract 60% of the muscle voluntarily. You probably feel this muscle is weak, and there's a visible loss of range of motion at the joint. You may begin to feel stiff in the mornings or after sitting for a period of time. 

In your 40's you earn a promotion at work and are now in charge of a bigger budget and team. The never ending demands and stress of your new role lead you to feel perennially tense, and now 75% of your muscles are continuously contracted in SMA. You can only voluntarily contract 25% of the muscle. Symptoms include:

• Significant loss of range of motion
• Painful, stiff joints
• Sore, hard, knotty muscles
• Weakness and loss of flexibility
• Poor sleep
• Anxiety

You may recognise these as symptoms of perimenopause or early signs of ageing.

Except their root cause is SMA as the result of an accumulation of life experiences, not years.

It's possible to have SMA in your teens or 20's if you encounter a lot of stress, trauma, injuries or surgery during your childhood or adolescence.

Each adaptation adds to the previous SMA, leading to more and more immobility and loss of function, unless you reverse the process and reset the resting length of the muscle.

How?

Unfortunately, stretching is NOT the answer!

Pulling on a muscle in an attempt to make it longer activates the Stretch Reflex, which involuntarily makes the muscle contract to avoid over-lengthening and potentially damaging the muscle. It's a protective mechanism. 

In order to reset the resting length of a muscle affected by SMA so it can contract and relax fully again, you need to do more of what that muscle is already doing to catch the brain's attention and restore conscious control.

The Power of Pandiculation

Pandiculation is Nature's reset button, and a form of self regulation.

The 3 stages of a pandiculation are:

1. A muscle contraction slightly above normal that you can clearly feel (but never painful)
2. A slow release with full awareness
3. Full relaxation and rest for the sensory-motor cortex to process and integrate the feedback from the muscles

The muscle contraction slightly above your usual level of tension makes the brain aware of what the muscle is doing. Once the cortex knows the muscle is contracting, it can tell the muscle to relax.

Deliberately relaxing the muscle with full awareness teaches the conscious cortex what elevated tension feels like and how to release it for relief.

Once you learn to recognise your personal patterns of SMA, you can use pandiculation to build new patterns that dial down tension and into efficient, pain-free movements again.

Takeaway

Many of the structural changes seen on X-rays and MRI scans that appear permanent as an inevitable part of ageing are actually a result of SMA leading to loss of function.

Function can be changed at any age by teaching the conscious brain to recognise elevated tension and deliberately relax the affected muscles to reset the resting length of the muscle and restore pain-free, efficient movement patterns.

Pandiculation effectively resets the resting length of the muscle to restore function and promote ease.

How To Find Lasting Relief From Pain Using The Power of Pandiculation

There's various options you can get support with getting lasting relief from chronic pain:

1) Pain Relief At Home Classes

These are online classes that you do in the comfort of your own home - turn up the heat, turn down the lights, create your own relaxation zone, whilst I guide you through a restorative movement practice designed to reduce pain and improve mobility and ease.

There will be 2 classes a week to choose from - do 1 or both!

This option is ideal if....

• you already come to one of my in-person classes but want a top-up,
• have done 1:1 coaching with me and now simply need a consistent maintenance routine, 
• you're new to my unique approach and looking for a gentle introduction to the world of movement for pain relief.
• you're not local enough to come to an in-person event

2)  1:1 Coaching

If you're ready to get help with finding long-term relief from chronic pain and stiffness and are looking for a more personal experience, a good place to start is my Unlock Your Body breakthrough session.

This is a one-off powerful 1:1 session where I'll help you understand the root triggers behind your persistent pain, and how to begin reversing them. This breakthrough session is ideal if you have a specific pain or injury that you're struggling to resolve, even if you've already tried other treatments with limited success.

We'll work together to find new ways of moving without pain. You'll leave with a deeper knowledge of what's triggering pain in your body, and a clear action plan to gain lasting relief. 

For some of my clients, a single session is enough to reset their body out of pain. For others, this is their first step to learning how to move their body without pain after months or years of struggling.

Apply HERE  and I'll be in touch to arrange an initial complementary consultation to discuss the various 1:1 coaching options I offer, and which would be a good fit for your circumstances.

Other ways you can find help with managing pain or an injury are:

• Book into a Stretch or Pilates class with me - these are a good introduction to some movement explorations from The Befriend Your Body (BYB) Method for pain relief and relaxation. This is my signature framework that I use to help my clients get out of pain and back to the activities they love.
• Come to my new class "Restorative Movement" at Field Place, Durrington, which will introduce you to somatic movement. This runs on Thursday from 7.15pm to 8pm.  
• Enjoy an indulgent Sensory and Sound Meditation experience and rediscover your inner Zen. More info HERE
• Subscribe HERE to receive "The Movement Chronicle", a free weekly e-newsletter delivering movement and pain relief truth bombs directly into your inbox every Monday morning,

You can connect with me to get help with chronic pain or injury through any of these channels:

• Email at norma@unicornhealthandfitness.com
• Follow me on Facebook and DM me on Messenger https://www.facebook.com/norma.pearsonfitness
• WhatsApp message to 07801 867361.