Does the overwhelm and experience of trauma create a pre-existing state in our nervous system that sets the stage for chronic pain conditions?

In this episode, we will be talking about chronic pain as a message from our body. Part of an unconscious protective response learned by nerve pathways rather than a physical abnormality.

While chronic pain can be traced back to an injury or event, the science suggests  chronic pain is caused by our brain’s attempt to protect us from unbearable emotions. In fact, this purpose of protection is at the root of many common complaints, including back pain, sciatica, migraines, fibromyalgia and many other symptoms. 

I have an incredible guest for this episode, Georgie Odlfield, a physiotherapist and chronic pain specialist, who has been a real leader in this space. Georgie is a TEDx speaker and the author of Chronic Pain: Your Key to Recovery. She is a woman, steady and strong in her leadership in trauma-informed care for chronic pain. 

I first came across her work when I sought out training in psychosomatic medicine while in preventive medicine residency. I had just switched out of general surgery and knew that I wanted to lean in more into the root cause of conditions that I had only previously been taught to treat with a pill or surgery. This is how I came across these leaders in the space, and have been happy to see Georgie provide such value and community for those with chronic pain and practitioners who work with chronic pain.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How chronic ongoing pain or recurring symptoms can actually be neuroplastic mind body symptoms
• How to ask questions that will help you get to the root of your chronic pain symptoms and release them 
• Why somebody is more likely to develop chronic pain after having an acute injury and the predisposing factors for this
• How chronic pain can be the body’s protective response to keep us from falling apart emotionally
• How to communicate with your body, and not just hear but also understand the answers it’s giving you

For more information and show notes, please visit our website: https://biologyoftrauma.com/biology-of-trauma-podcast/