The clocks have sprung forward, and it is here. The British springtime’if you had to push me, I do think that it is my favourite time of year.
As a fair-weather cyclist, it is great to be able to jump on the bike in shorts and a t-shirt, rather than having to layer up with multiple jerseys, gloves, heated socks, over shoes, hat and snood.
I have made the trip from Guildford to West Byfleet this week on my bike and it has been beautiful, long may it continue.
We are heading to West Sussex today to see Charlotte’s family and celebrate Mother’s Day down there. Here is to all the amazing Mum’s out there.
I nearly fell at the first hurdle back in 2019, when Kit my son was born. He was only a few weeks old, and it came to Mother’s Day.
I was feeling quite smug as I had got my Mum a card and flowers and was sitting at Charlotte’s parents – house on Sunday morning watching match of the day. Her younger brother turned to me and said “what have you got Charlotte for Mother’s Day” to which I choked on my cup of tea and replied “do I have to do that this year” He is only 4 weeks old.
Cue a mad panic and a dash to the local garage, chocolates and garage flowers It was for her Mother’s Day. It is a good job she has let me forget it and it is not raised EVER!
I wanted to talk about body and mind healing this week. I talk to our clients about a triad of health:
- Physical health
- Chemical health
- Emotional health
Very often your physical health can be in good shape but there is still pain, how does this happen? Well often but not always it is due to an imbalance in emotional health.
A book called “The body keeps score” talks about how talk therapy sometimes is not enough to heal from emotional traumas. If the body is not safe, regulated or reconnected then it can only go so far on the healing journey.
The book is great at showing that emotional trauma is not just a memory, but it is a lived experience in the body, stored in the nervous system, tissues, posture and breathing.
The author Bessel van der Kolk suggests that trauma is stored not only in the memory portion of the brain but holds in the body leaving the sufferers numb and disconnected without understanding why they feel this way. He describes this as nervous system adaptations for survival.
“Trauma is not the story of something that happened back then, it is the current imprint of pain on body, brain and soul”.
If we look at the parts of the brain that respond to trauma:
- Amygdala- following trauma this becomes hyper-vigilant and detects threats everywhere, even when there may not be a problem
- Prefrontal cortex- this is the part of the brain which helps with “thinking”, it switches of when there is stress and trauma. This means that rational thinking is tricky.
- Vagus nerve-this is a cranial nerve and it is part of the parasympathetic system (the side of the nervous system involved in rest and digest). It becomes dysfunctional making it difficult to relax.
When you have an emotional trauma there are people that are qualified to help with this. Psychologists and counsellors do a great job. This can help to support the patient but can’t always reset the nervous system.
The patient is good at describing and talking about the trauma, what happened and how they react because of it. But they still feel unsafe, stuck or reactive. Without “bottom-up” healing (body-based) trauma can keep looping on the subconscious brain level.
This can display most commonly in the shoulders (upper trapezius) muscles. When a trauma is triggered, the muscles become stiff and raised, they refer pain round the head and can cause the posture to round forward.
What are body-based therapies?
These ae therapeutic approaches that focus on restoring safety and regulation through the body. They work directly with the autonomic (subconscious) nervous system. This can help to release stored trauma and build capacity for calm.
Trauma sensitive Yoga– this is a form of hatha yoga where you may focus on longer stretching and movements. In trauma sensitive yoga, the movements are slow, guided and invitational (no corrections from an instructor). It helps to reconnect the body that may feel numb or unsafe.
It is said to be good for rebuilding trust in the body.
Somatic experiencing- Peter Levine started this. It is a body centred approach to trauma that helps by trying to promote nervous system regulation and healing. It highlights the patients physical stress like heart rate, breathing rate and tight muscles.
It uses subtle “interoception” to discharge trapped energy. The therapist uses touch, movement, breath work and meditation to help with relaxation and healing.
EMDR (Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing)-this combines memory processing with bilateral stimulation such as eye movements, tapping and sound. This helps the brain unstick memories and reprocess them in the “filing cabinet” of the brain without the emotional charge.
Physical therapies– massage, physiotherapy and Chiropractic can help to regulate the vagus nerve which promotes relaxation and restores feeling of safety. Craniosacral therapy and chiropractic adjustments can turn on the rest/digest side of the nervous system and promote healing.
If you have done talk therapy or counselling and it has helped but only got you so far, perhaps it is time to bring the body in to the conversation, I’m no expert but reading the book “The body keeps the score” was eye-opening and has helped a lot of people.
If you are wanting to chat more about the information above then why not book a call with me and we can go into more detail? Click here to book or if you want to get an assessment then Book a consultation with a Chiropractor here
If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment
