Why You Ache When You Wake - It's Not Age!

Many people (including me!) feel stiff and achey when we first get up. Then you start moving and feel better.

You probably think it's a normal part of ageing - the good news is it's NOT!!!

That morning achiness and stiffness is actually a sign of Sensory-Motor Amnesia (SMA), which you CAN do something about.

Our bodies are constantly responding to whatever we're experiencing, Sometimes muscles become stuck in a state of chronic tension, where they remain in continuous contraction, consuming energy and producing lactate.

This never stops, even when you sleep. While you're resting, the lactate builds up, causing muscle soreness and fatigue. By the time you wake up in the morning you feel tired, stiff and achey from all that non-stop muscle activity.

But unlike ageing, which we can't reverse, SMA arises from a habitual response to stress (physical / mental / lifestyle), and can therefore be unlearned so we feel young again.

The Myth of Ageing

It's common wisdom that as you get older, your body becomes frailer and less able. 

When you were a child movement was fun. You'd run, climb, somersault and cartwheel with utter freedom and fearlessness.

As you became an adult, you started to feel stiffer, your joints ache more and everything feels like more effort. You can pull a muscle just by bending over to pull on your socks.

It seems like everyone is right - your body is slowing down and deteriorating with each passing year. Getting older sucks!

But it's not ageing that's causing your infirmity and fatigue.

That's actually great news because we can't stop ourselves from getting old, but we can keep our bodies healthy and active.

Sensory-Motor Amnesia is your culprit, not your age.

What On Earth Is Sensory-Motor Amnesia?

Sensory-Motor Amnesia (SMA) is a phenomenon where your brain loses conscious awareness and control of muscles.

Your nervous system is always responding to your experiences and your environment.

The older you get the more life experiences you accumulate - good, bad, exciting, scary -  and everything is stored in your body.

Your muscles contract to change your body's posture to reflect how you feel and respond to these experiences. When the event is over, your muscles relax and return back to their resting state.

Except sometimes they don't. They stay in a continuous state of contraction, locking your body into that posture until it feels normal and your brain can't remember how you were before.

Here's an example of how sensory-motor amnesia can trigger chronic pain.....

• Your left hip starts aching all the time. The pain is worse when you wake up, and gets better as you start moving during the day
• X-rays show some "wear and tear" changes to the hip joint  and a doctor diagnoses you with osteoarthritis and prescribes painkillers
• A chiropractor finds that your pelvis is unlevel and you've got a leg length discrepancy. You feel relief after being adjusted but a few days later the pain returns. This happens after each appointment.

This is a pretty common scenario that I see often, and maybe it's happened to you or someone you know too?

But what's actually going on ISN'T a natural consequence of getting older.

You refuse to accept that you can't do anything about your "arthritic" hip and come to me for help with your pain.

As I'm talking with you, I notice that your body is bent over to your left. When I point this out, you're surprised and reply "No, I'm straight".

So I stand you in front of a mirror and show you - "OMG! I never noticed that I'm leaning" you exclaim.

I ask you something odd "Have you ever had a fall, injury or surgery on 1 side of your body?"

That's when you remember you injured your right leg several years ago, and it took several weeks to heal.

A very common adaptation to a lower body injury is to limp and shift your weight onto the uninjured leg whilst the other side is recovering.

After a few weeks, this feels normal and your brain stops registering the change in posture and gait.

The muscles on your left side become more active to support the extra weight and get stuck in a state of continuous contraction. Over time brain gets desensitised to the signals from these muscles so you're no longer aware of what they're doing and can't relax them back to their resting state.

The role of a muscle is to contract, get shorter and move 1 bone closer to another. This requires energy in the form of glycogen and ATP. When ATP is broken down in a muscle cell energy is released, along with lactate as a by-product of that reaction.

Normally, lactate is cleared at the same rate as it's produced so it never accumulates inside the cell.

But if a muscle is continuously in contraction, it's always consuming energy and producing lactate. As lactate clearance lags, the acidic build-up leads to fatigue, soreness and pain.

This happens 24/7, even whilst you're sleeping. Hence why a lot of people find their pain is worse when they wake up, but improves once they get moving, 

Lactate build-up from constant muscle contraction increases whilst you're sleeping and less active. Movement increases circulation, which helps to flush lactate from the muscle cells.

How To Reverse Sensory-Motor Amnesia To Feel Young Again

Reversing sensory-motor amnesia involves making your brain consciously aware of involuntary muscle contractions, so you regain control and relax them back to a non-painful resting state.

My approach involves neural repatterning to help you unlearn old movement habits that are causing pain, and re-programme new, more helpful patterns.

I do this with my signature framework, The Befriend Your Body Method for Pain Relief and Relaxation.

It's a very different philosophy to mainstream, tick box, cookie cutter treatments that solely focus on fixing structure, like bones or joints in isolation.

There is no one-size-fits-all in my world. Everyone has had a different life journey, so how their body and nervous system respond will be unique.

The other BIG difference is that you are an active participant in your healing. This makes the results stick long-term because you're creating the changes for yourself and can therefore repeat them whenever needed to dial down pain.

WAYS TO WORK WITH ME TO FIND FREEDOM FROM CHRONIC PAIN

If you're ready to find lasting relief from your pain, I have a variety of options available:

1) Grab my free E-guide today "How to Get Relief From Back Pain and Muscle Tension in just 10 mins a Day". This informative guide introduces the 3x universal stress responses that lead to muscles getting stuck in contraction and locking you in chronic pain. There's 2x 10 mins video tutorials showing you how to effectively release muscle tension from the front and back of your body in the comfort of your home without expensive equipment or complex, painful stretches. Download for instant access HERE

2) Unlock Your Body breakthrough session

This is a single powerful 1:1 session designed to help you find the root drivers behind your persistent pain. A breakthrough session is ideal f you have a specific pain or injury that you're struggling to resolve.

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

I have a small number of Unlock Your Body breakthrough slots open for October and November, as well as very limited availability for 3 or 6 month 1:1 coaching packages.

Apply HERE  and I'll be in touch to arrange an initial complementary consultation to discuss which option will be a good fit for you.

3) Pain Relief and Relaxation Techniques for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Workshop

Next date: Sunday 17th November, 1.15pm to 2.45pm (only 7x spaces). **Book your ticket HERE**

Angmering Village Hall  (The Kings Suite)

A friendly and inclusive small group workshop where you'll discover the factors that cause fibromyalgia symptoms, why chronic pain is so hard to resolve even if you've tried the usual treatments, and how to find lasting relief from both conditions. 

The session will be a blend of informal group discussion and a restorative movement session, where you'll practice gentle exercises that re-programme the nervous system to release tense muscles, reduce stiffness and find new ways of moving without pain. 

After the workshop, you'll have lifetime access to a simple home programme to relieve pain in just 10 minutes a day. 

Click HERE to read all the details and how to book your place.

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 the foundational principles of 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.
• Get your copy of my free E-guide "How to Get Relief From Back Pain and Muscle Tension in just 10 mins a Day". This introduces the 3x universal stress responses that can keep you stuck in pain, and explains the 4x pillars of The BYB Method. There's also 2x 10 mins video tutorials showing you how to release muscle tension from the front and back of your body in the comfort of your without expensive equipment. Download for instant access HERE
• Subscribe HERE to receive "The Movement Chronicle", a weekly e-newsletter delivering movement and pain relief truth bombs directly into your inbox every Monday morning,

You can connect with me 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.