“What do you mean you are changing my brain to fix my back pain?” - our approach at Peak Chiropractic

“What do you mean you are changing my brain to fix my back pain?” - our approach at Peak Chiropractic

You may hear our clinicians say that the way we are going to solve your pain is by changing your brain but what exactly do we mean by that? This blog is going to walk you through our approach to care for long term results.

The brain, a remarkable organ housed within our skull, serves as the command center for the entire body. This network of neurons and synapses is responsible for every thought, movement, and sensation we experience. The brain is clever in the way it is able to continually adapt, whether that is for the good or for the bad the brain doesn’t know. Sometimes it may not always be best for normal function leading your brain to pick up bad habits leading to compensation patterns causing pain. Understanding the brain's pivotal role in our overall health can provide insight into why the body can become painful when it develops too many compensation patterns. 

What are compensation patterns?

Compensation patterns are the body’s way of adapting to pain, injury, or imbalances. When a part of the body is injured or underperforming, other muscles and joints adjust to compensate for the deficiency. While this can provide short-term relief, it often leads to long-term issues.

The Development of Compensation Patterns

Compensation patterns typically develop due to:

• Injury: When an injury occurs, the body naturally shifts to protect the injured area.
• Chronic Pain: Persistent pain can cause the body to develop bad habits to avoid discomfort.
• Poor Posture: Habitual poor posture can lead to muscle imbalances and compensatory movements.
• Repetitive Strain: Repetitive activities can cause certain muscles to overwork while others weaken.

Why Compensation Patterns Cause Pain

Over time, compensation patterns can cause pain and discomfort due to several reasons:

• Muscle Imbalance: When certain muscles become overworked while others weaken, it leads to an imbalance. This imbalance can strain muscles, ligaments, and joints, causing pain and discomfort.

• Joint Stress: Compensation patterns often place excessive stress on joints that are not designed to handle it. This can lead to joint pain, inflammation, and conditions like arthritis.
• Decreased Mobility: As the body adjusts to these patterns, it can lose flexibility and range of motion. This stiffness can contribute to pain and make everyday movements more difficult.

At Peak, we understand the importance of identifying these compensation patterns and not focusing on the pain itself as that area of the body may just be the weaker part of your system causing the pain to present itself there. For example, a bridge is far less likely to break at the start or the end of the bridge as they are the stronger parts of the bridge meaning a bridge is likely going to break at the middle of the bridge as that is where it is at its weakest point which is where you'll find we cracks and damage, just like your body. 

Our job is to find the true cause of your symptoms so that we can treat your body and system as a whole to not only solve the problem in the short term but also provide you long term relief, to prevent the pain from coming back. This is done by addressing the root cause and also breaking the compensation patterns your brain has developed through expert hands on care by our expert clinicians. If our unique approach to treating pain is something that you want, book yourself in with one of our clinicians to identify the root cause of your pain!