NeuroPlasticity, Pain and Paying Attention

Did you know that our brain and nervous system is made up of 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) that are continuously receiving information about and responding to our ever-changing environment? This ability of our brain to change as a response to changes in sensory input (or the messages it receives via the sensory system i.e taste, smell, sound, touch, sight, and body position) involves actual changes in the nerve cells themselves, which impacts how they interact with other nerve cells. This sensory information allows the brain to get an idea of what is happening in the environment (both internal and external) and then plan and carry out a motor response (this is known as sensorimotor integration). Depending on the information that it receives, the brain will “fire and wire”. The central nervous system then is constantly reorganising in response to any ever-changing environment...this ability to adapt is known as neuroplasticity (or neural plasticity).

Our brain and body are continuously adapting to our environment, however constant or changeable. When we understand what is happening in our environment and are able to make optimal choices, we really can influence our brain and nervous system. Optimal movement, appropriate nutrition, adequate exercise, good quality sleep, the opportunity for joy and fun and emotional support are all factors that we can choose to making part our healthy environment every day. 

It’s true though that some things in our environment are hard to change for the better. The scars from old injuries or past trauma for instance. Our “worn out knees” might ache with the cold weather and make it hard to use the stairs now, but at the time of our initial injuries we thought we were “invincible” and we recovered quickly seemingly with little lasting effect. The pain we feel years later may serve to help keep us safe, reminding us to protect the joint if it is no longer as stable and reliable as it once was and helping us avoid further injury. However sometimes this pain may become non informative and/or non helpful, and actually make us afraid and unmotivated to do the things that might help, such as in this case, gentle exercises to strengthen the supporting soft tissues and get the most from the joint that we can. Sometimes the pain may spread to other areas that are not injured at all; the pain itself has become a problem, the brain has learnt to be in pain. In fact, sometimes just the idea of using the joint may be enough to make us feel pain, even when we are aren’t even using it! 

Interestingly, we now understand that the feeling of pain is created in the brain and something your brain decides you should experience. The feeling of pain may be present with or without actual tissue damage. This is called the “pain paradox”. It means that the pain you feel does not always reflect the severity or even the location of your problem - if there is a problem at all. 

And this is where it gets exciting. Just like sensory input from our environment that we have already discussed, brain scientists now know that what we focus on also drives the way our brain will change. The part of the brain associated with what we focus and pay attention to is called the Prefrontal Cortex. Importantly, this part of your brain is also the part of your brain that’s very involved in pain becoming chronic. This might mean that the more you focus on your pain the worse it becomes. However, it also presents an opportunity to shift your focus when you can to other things in your life, particularly what makes you happy and grateful. This might help to dampen down the pain. Every time we pay attention to something, we activate our prefrontal cortex. Our focus informs our brain as to what is important in that moment and so influences its response. Here we have an ability then to consciously shift our point of focus! We can go about our day responding as our already wired patterns of response instruct and playing our already downloaded programs and neural pathways... or we can make the choice to begin to wire a new way of responding and adapting.  When you consider that each of us has around 100 billion neurons in our nervous system, each of which make 10-1000 connections with other neurons, that’s 10^100 billion possibilities.

Making optimal environmental choices towards health and consciously choosing what we pay attention to can change our neurology and so influence our body’s response to stress and our perception of pain. Choose your input keys carefully, and get creating!

For more information watch this short clip “PAIN IN THE BRAIN” from Dr Heidi Haavik (Chiropractor, Neurophysiologist, Researcher)