Understanding Pain: Is Your Pain System Being Overprotective?

If you’ve had pain for more than a few months, chances are your pain system has become very good at producing pain. Practice makes perfect, after all.

Now, before you throw imaginary daggers my way, bear with me—this doesn’t mean your pain isn’t real or that it’s your fault in any way. It simply means your nervous system is doing what it has learned to do: protect you.

Pain as a Learned Response

Think about learning a new skill like playing the piano or dancing. Over time, your nerve cells adapt and become more responsive. The same thing happens with pain—your nervous system can learn pain and become increasingly sensitive.

Although the nerves involved in movement and pain are different, the process of learning and adapting is very much the same.

Signs Your Body May Be Overprotective

• Your body feels more sensitive than it used to.

• Activities that once caused little or no pain now hurt more than expected.

• Pain persists or worsens even though your injury has healed.

• The pain spreads to other areas of the body.

• You feel stiff, or you experience muscle spasms.

• Your body seems to react to emotions, thoughts, and stress more than usual.

This is your nervous system being overly helpful, trying to shield you—just a little too much.

So, What Can You Do?

When you're in the thick of pain and bombarded with advice from all sides, it can feel overwhelming. If this is where you are right now, I want you to know: I see you. I know how hard it is.

Here’s what I offer, humbly. Take it or leave it.

1. Tune Into Your Innate Knowing

What do I mean by that?

If you're lying on a chiropractic table—or in any other kind of therapy session—and your body is screaming "This is not okay!"... listen to it. Healing from a place of fear is really hard.

I know how tempting it is to hand over control when you're desperate for relief. I’ve been there myself. When I first moved to Norwich from Nottingham, I didn’t know any of the practitioners I would normally trust. I ended up choosing a modality that didn’t suit my system. The therapist meant well, but my nervous system didn’t feel safe—and it completely backfired. My pain got much worse.

Your body knows what feels right. Trust that inner signal. For more on this read my post understanding your body's signals

2. Be Radically Kind to Yourself

So many of my clients—whether they come for reflexology or meditation—speak about themselves with so much harshness. Their sentences are full of shoulds:

• “I should be better by now.”

• “I should be going to the gym more.”

• “I should be able to do…”

Sound familiar?

The trouble with “should” is that it tells your nervous system it's failing. It adds pressure, guilt, and shame—which are exactly the things that heighten pain and stress.

Believe it or not, your body listens to how you talk to yourself.

You wouldn't speak to someone you love this way, so why say it to yourself?

How Reflexology and Meditation Can Help

Both reflexology and meditation can be powerful tools to help calm an overprotective nervous system. Reflexology works by gently stimulating pressure points on the feet or hands, which can send signals to the brain to relax and restore balance. Many people find that it helps them feel grounded and safe in their bodies again. Meditation, on the other hand, supports you in creating a calm inner space—training your mind to notice thoughts and sensations without immediately reacting to them. Over time, this can reduce the sensitivity of your pain system, helping you respond to discomfort with more ease and less fear. Together, these practices offer a way to gently retrain your body and mind toward healing.

Final Thoughts

Pain is complicated. It’s not just about damaged tissues or old injuries—it’s about how your nervous system interprets danger.

But there is hope. With gentleness, awareness, and kindness, you can begin to soothe that overprotective system. Healing is possible, even if it takes time.

And remember: you’re not alone.

---

Helen provides reflexology and meditation in central Norwich   Helen Pinnock -Reflexology Norwich

Reflexology is a gentle and non-invasive treatment that offers your body and mind the opportunity to relax, restore and rejuvenate. By receiving regular treatments you are supporting your own wellbeing both physically and emotionally.