Understanding Your Body Is Part of Healing It.
Knowledge isn't just empowering — it's therapeutic. Learning what is happening in your body, and why, is one of the most evidence-supported tools in physical therapy.
An injury or diagnosis can feel overwhelming — especially when you're trying to figure out what you can and can't do while still showing up for your life. One of the most important things I do as your physical therapist is make sure you leave every appointment with a clearer picture of what's happening in your body and what you can do about it.
Education isn't an add-on to your care at Hampton Physiotherapy — it's woven into every session. Research consistently shows that patients who understand their condition recover faster, experience less fear, and are more likely to stay active during and after treatment.
The Science of Pain — And Why It Matter
Pain is one of the most misunderstood experiences in healthcare. For a long time, pain was thought of as a direct signal from damaged tissue — the more damage, the more pain. We now know that's not the whole story. Pain is far more complex, and far more interesting, than that.
Pain is produced by the brain, not the tissue
This is one of the most important and counterintuitive things to understand about pain. Your brain receives information from your body — pressure, temperature, chemical changes, movement — and decides, based on a huge range of factors, whether to produce pain. Pain is an output of the nervous system, not a direct readout of tissue damage.
This is why two people with identical MRI findings can have completely different pain experiences. It's why a paper cut on your fingertip can feel excruciating while a significant injury sustained during an adrenaline-fueled moment might not hurt until later. The brain is always interpreting, always weighing context — and pain is the result of that interpretation.
What influences how much pain you feel?
Pain science research has identified a wide range of factors that influence pain beyond tissue damage alone. These include:
Sleep — poor sleep amplifies pain sensitivity significantly. Even one or two nights of disrupted sleep can lower your pain threshold
Stress and anxiety — the nervous system is more sensitized when under stress, meaning pain signals are amplified
Beliefs and expectations — patients who believe they will recover tend to recover faster. Catastrophic thinking about pain ("this will never get better") is one of the strongest predictors of chronic pain
Social context — pain is influenced by your environment, your relationships, and whether you feel supported
Movement history — avoiding movement due to fear of pain often worsens both the pain and the underlying condition over time
Attention — where your attention goes, pain tends to follow. This isn't dismissive — it's neurological
Understanding that pain is a protective response — not always a sign of damage — is one of the most liberating things a patient can learn. It changes the relationship with pain entirely.
Central sensitization — when the alarm system gets too sensitive
In some patients, particularly those dealing with chronic pain, the nervous system itself becomes sensitized over time. This is called central sensitization. The alarm system — which is designed to protect you — becomes overactive, producing pain in response to stimuli that wouldn't normally be painful, or amplifying pain that is out of proportion to the tissue involved.
Central sensitization is not imaginary. It is a real, measurable neurological phenomenon — and it is one of the reasons why treating chronic pain requires more than just addressing the physical structure. Understanding this process is a critical part of breaking the cycle of chronic pain, and it's something I address directly in treatment when relevant.
Helpful versus unhelpful pain
Not all pain means stop. One of the most practically useful things I teach patients is how to distinguish between pain that is a normal part of recovery and movement — what we sometimes call "good hurt" — and pain that is a warning signal worth heeding.
A general framework I use with patients:
Pain during exercise that stays at a 4/10 or below and resolves within 24 hours is generally acceptable during recovery
Pain that spikes above a 5/10, lingers significantly after activity, or is accompanied by swelling, instability, or neurological symptoms warrants modification
Sharp, shooting, or electric pain — particularly with neurological symptoms like numbness or tingling — should always be assessed before pushing through
These aren't universal rules — they're starting points for a conversation we'll have together based on your specific situation. Learning to read your own body's signals is one of the most valuable skills you can develop in recovery.
What Else You'll Learn Working With Me
Pain neuroscience is just one piece of the education you'll receive at Hampton Physiotherapy. Depending on your condition and goals, our work together may also include:
Your specific injury or condition — what is actually happening in the tissue, what the research says about healing timelines, and what to realistically expect from recovery
Body mechanics and movement habits — how you sit, stand, lift, carry, and move through your day has a significant impact on pain and recovery. I'll help you identify patterns worth changing and give you practical strategies to do so
Sleep optimization — sleep is one of the most powerful recovery tools available, and most people don't use it well. I'll work with you on sleep position, pillow and mattress considerations, and behavioral strategies that support deeper, more restorative rest
Activity modification — what you can keep doing, what to temporarily modify, and what to avoid — with clear reasoning behind each recommendation so you can make informed decisions in the moment
Exercise and your overall health — the evidence for exercise as medicine is overwhelming. I'll help you understand not just how exercise helps your specific condition, but why staying active is one of the most important long-term investments you can make in your health
Safe return to sport or performance — for athletes, musicians, and active people, returning to full activity is the goal. I'll help you understand what readiness actually looks like and how to progress safely without setbacks
Why Education Makes You a Better Patient — And a Healthier Person
The goal of education in physical therapy isn't to overwhelm you with information. It's to give you the tools to understand your own body well enough that you can make good decisions — in the clinic, at home, at work, and long after your formal treatment is finished.
I don't want you to be dependent on me indefinitely. I want you to leave our work together with a level of body literacy that serves you for life. That means understanding what your pain is telling you, knowing how to move well, and having the confidence to stay active even when things feel uncertain.
A note on information overload
Education looks different for every patient. Some people want to go deep into the neuroscience. Others want the practical takeaways without the biology lesson. I'll meet you wherever you are — and I'll always make sure the information I share is relevant to your specific situation, not just a generic handout.
Ready to understand your body better?
Whether you're dealing with a new injury, managing a chronic condition, or just trying to move through life with less pain, education is one of the most powerful tools we have. I'd love to help you make sense of what's happening in your body — and give you a clear path forward.