parts of life. And let's acknowledge that
within those inevitable constraints of the
human experience, there is so much we can
do. Namely, we can move! We can shift. We
can change.
It is no coincidence that one
recommendation shows up in the literature
again and again: The best way to deal with
pain is to continue to be active, in whatever
ways are feasible, and to avoid the trap of
immobility. Movement is nearly always
useful for helping with pain, and lack of
movement nearly always worsens pain. A
life that is pliable means that we are able to
celebrate our bodies, to inhabit our bodies
with purpose, both when things are going
well and when things are not. And that is
what we can, and should, aim to give our
clients.
Notes
1. Other relevant articles to this topic in David
Lobenstine's Massage & Bodywork cadre
include "Leave Diagnosing to the Doctor,"
January/February 2022, page 48; "Find Your
Floppy," July/August 2021, page 52; and "Pour,
Don't Push," November/December 2016, page
64.
2. Elaine Marieb, Human Anatomy & Physiology,
Fifth Edition (San Francisco: Benjamin
Cummings, 2001): 478, 536.
3. Rex Fujiwara, Pain Science Center, "A History
of Pain Science," accessed May 2022, www.
painsciencecenter.com/history-of-pain-science.
4. Paul Ingraham, PainScience.com, "Pain
is Weird: Pain Science Reveals a Volatile,
Misleading Sensation that Comes Entirely from
an Overprotective Brain, Not Our Tissues,"
November 9, 2021, www.painscience.com/
articles/pain-is-weird.php.
5. International Association for the Study of
Pain, "Defi nition of Pain," www.iasp-pain.org/
resources/terminology/#pain.
6. Anoop Balachandran, BretContreras.com, "A
Revolution in the Understanding of Pain and
Treatment of Chronic Pain," March 29, 2011,
www.bretcontreras.com/a-revolution-in-the-
understanding-of-pain-and-treatment-of-
chronic-pain.
7. Todd Hargrove, BetterMovement.org, "To Predict
Chronic Pain, Look to the Brain," January 14, 2018,
www.bettermovement.org/blog/2018/to-predict-
chronic-pain-look-to-the-brain.
8. Paul Ingraham, PainScience.com, "Pain is Weird:
Pain Science Reveals a Volatile, Misleading
Sensation that Comes Entirely from an
Overprotective Brain, Not Our Tissues."
9. Til Luchau, "Notes from the 2019 San Diego
Pain Summit," Massage & Bodywork (May/June
2019): 102–4; Study referenced: M. Miciak et al.,
"The Necessary Conditions of Engagement for
the Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy:
An Interpretive Description Study," Archives of
Physiotherapy 8 (2018): 3.
10. Brian Fulton, The Placebo Effect in Manual
Therapy: Improving Clinical Outcomes in your
Practice (London: Handspring Limited, 2015), 45.
11. Til Luchau, "Notes from the 2019 San Diego
Pain Summit"; Studies referenced: M. D.
Bishop, "Patient Expectations of Benefi t from
Interventions for Neck Pain and Resulting
Infl uence on Outcomes," Journal of Orthopaedic
& Sports Physical Therapy 43, no. 7 (July 2013):
457–65; M. E. Menendez and D. Ring, "Factors
Associated with Greater Pain Intensity," Hand
Clinics 32, no. 1 (February 2016): 27–31.
12. Paul Ingraham, "Pain is Weird."
13. Paul Ingraham, "Pain is Weird."
14. Lorimer Moseley, TheConversation.com,
"Explainer: What is Pain and What is Happening
When We Feel It?," November 18, 2015, www.
theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-pain-
and-what-is-happening-when-we-feel-it-49040.
15. Todd Hargrove, BetterMovement.org, "Pain
Science Confusion," September 16, 2013, www.
bettermovement.org/blog/2013/pain-science-
confusion. (In another post, Hargrove offers a
detailed look at how our new understanding
of pain can shift our approach, using one
particularly trendy example—foam rolling.
See: Todd Hargrove, "How Does Foam Rolling
Work?" BetterMovement.org, May 2, 2013, www.
bettermovement.org/blog/2013/how-does-foam-
rolling-work.)
16. For more discussion of the role of the breath in
our work, see: David Lobenstine, "Breath—Your
Most Powerful Tool," Massage & Bodywork May/
June 2016, www.massageandbodyworkdigital.
com/i/665755-may-june-2016/76.
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 53
17. Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003).
18. Balachandran, "A Revolution in the
Understanding of Pain and Treatment of Chronic
Pain."
19. Balachandran, "A Revolution in the
Understanding of Pain and Treatment of Chronic
Pain."
20. Barry Boyce, Mindful.org, "Using Mindfulness to
Cope with Pain," February 4, 2013, www.mindful.
org/susan-bauer-wu-mindfulness-and-coping-
with-pain.
21. Susan M. Pollak, Ronald D. Siegel, and
Thomas Pedulla, Mindful.org, "3 Ways to Bring
Mindfulness Into Therapy," www.mindful.org/
in-body-and-mind/psychology/3-ways-to-bring-
mindfulness-into-therapy.
22. Sebene Selassie, Ten Percent Happier, "From
Wellness to Wellbeing," January 5, 2022, www.
tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/
wellness-to-wellbeing.
David M. Lobenstine, BA, LMT, BCTMB,
has been massaging, teaching, writing,
and editing for over 15 years in New York
City, with a focus on clients at all stages of
childbearing. He is an authorized instructor
of the Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy
workshops, and also designs and teaches his
own continuing education workshops, both
across the US and online at Body Brain Breath.
For more information about the author, visit
bodybrainbreath.com.
VIDEO: "YOU CAN'T FIX
YOUR CLIENTS"
1. Open your camera
2. Scan the code
3. Tap on notification
4. Watch!
