Origins of our Aches and Pains

Origins of our Aches & Pains

Fundamentally and very simply, pain is the single-most reported complaint in a doctors' office.  The focus of this BLOG Post is to discuss benign, uncomplicated muscle and bone-related origins of pain.

In my own experience as Clinician, an hour in a day does not go by without the discussion of pain emerging.  "Pain is a pain" for many and in many cases, a Chief Complaint of "Pain" will be received with a Clinical History that is absent of any one reason or recollection for the symptom of pain.  In many cases, most of us are simply unaware that a close relationship exists between a previous injury or an exposure to long-past traumas and current or future aches and pain syndromes.

This is where we dig for clues and answers to the origins of most pain symptoms and where we find relief.

Muscle and Bone Pain over time

As our body endures the effects of time, (some call this "aging"), including its exposure to minor and major injuries; micro and repetitive traumas, and the constant effects of gravity - it also undergoes a beautiful and natural healing process as result of those "injuries", to maintain the high functioning operation of the body.

"Degeneration is natural; cumulative; exponential; and absolute"

The injury-healing mechanism is a normal and natural process that is cumulative in nature (injuries add up) and impacts the physical functioning of the body, exponentially over time.  The more injuries that have been healed, the more degeneration of the physical body at that area. The more areas affected, the more rapid and greater the degeneration. Additionally, the more time (i.e. "aging") we are exposed to this physical degeneration, and the more incidents we are exposed to, the more this process is compounded and the more its effects are felt on the many related parts of the body.  Degeneration is natural; cumulative; exponential; and absolute.

The type of injury or trauma, and the extent of the physical damage per incident dictates the amount of healing that is originally required.  It is common for us to forget and some of us may not even know about some of the early slips and falls we took during our first several years; like falls from bicycles; from skates; falls from trees; down stairs; or collisions on the football field or hockey rink, and baseball diamond.  Many of us have fallen from ladders; off roofs; have conducted years of heavy work; have been exposed to repetitive light or heavy duty in factories, at home or via a hobby; and some have been exposed to violent and big forces within auto-accidents, sporting collisions and major slips or falls. 

Fact is, we have all been exposed to "something" in our lifetime that has injured our physical body and not necessarily to a point that we required medical attention - but the "event", however big or small, has happened. Over time and as the body weakens, the effects of gravity and aging itself wreak constant havoc on our musculo-skeletal system and when we add all this to the cumulative traumas we have been exposed to, the result is often irritation and in the form of inflammation.

Inflammation: As a root of Pain

Aches and Pains are often related to inflammation of the areas where our muscles attach to bones and where the ends of the muscles weaken and start to naturally micro-tear over time. Inflammation at the joints of the body (where bones attach to bones) also occurs, where ligaments or cartilagenous surfaces start to break down, due to constant and often disproportionate physical stress put onto that area of the body. 

The amount of this type of inflammation is often directly related and proportionate to the amount of previous exposure to minor or major injuries; the types of exposures and the forces at play during the injury exposure (e.g. Car accidents produce huge forces (exposure) whereas a fall off a chair produces small forces which in both cases, (the "forces") get absorbed in some amount, by the physical bodies involved in the collisions).  

The number of exposures one experiences is a factor in the amount of degeneration and related future inflammation (root of pain), as is the length of time away from the original injuries. In fact, paradoxically the further away from the time of the original injury (i.e. the older we get), the more time that original injury has had to degenerate the area of the body that was previously injured and healed. It's curious and most patients who come into the clinic, think the opposite is true - and commonly think that the older the injury, the less of a bearing that old injury should have on the current state of health or level of pain.  The opposite is in fact true.

Simply put: A fall from a park bench that scrapes a knee of a 9yo boy will have minimal impact on the same person at age 80.  Whereas a 9yo's fall onto his back (spine) from a height of 20 ft off a barn beam onto a non-sharp and large, oddly shaped blunt metal implement below, will have a far different and significantly greater physical degenerative impact, on this person when he is age 80.  

Bigger injury = Bigger future pain from degeneration and related inflammation

The fact is, we all know our bodies histories better than our physicians do, and we certainly know our minor and major injury exposures more than we share with our doctors.  So if you are experiencing aches and pains related to your own "physical-checkered-past" (exposure to minor and major injury or trauma), as mentioned above, you can start to better understand and maybe even accept your pain complaints to a different degree. Small consolation I am sure.

As our body endures time, it also "wears out" through time when we essentially 'spend" our body.  Our muscles often get stronger up to a point in our lives, as they are exposed to normal "strengthening" type activities - as do our bones. However, when the load of our lives intentional of unintentional say from a trauma or simple wear and tear on our bodies is greater than our physical body's strength, it is then that the body starts to break down.  This breakdown leads to natural healing and if repeated (which is the norm), it becomes a vicious cycle of an "injury & healing process", because we continue to expose ourselves to normal and not-so-normal wear and tear events that life delivers.

While this healing process is considered "normal", in this scenario, it falls under a medical condition many are familiar with called Osteoarthritis or simply Arthritis, which is degenerative by definition.

Arthritis can be a natural aging process and it can be started as result of trauma. Arthritis is not necessarily an older persons' disease or affliction, rather it is a condition that takes time to develop so the older we get the more likely the effects of Arthritis will become real and realized.  Traumatic-onset arthritis is a part of a healing process that STARTS at the time of injury, regardless of age.  The more we are broken down from injury, weakness, fatigue, stress or illness the greater the degeneration is felt, at that stage of our lives. Aches and pain affect us all.  The colloquial term "arthritis" is often reserved for the aged and in the Pain Clinic setting where I work, we observe this process to be normal and, very common at all ages.

Clinical Observation: Human survival through and over time requires willpower and inner strength to withstand the rigours of normal life.  In many cases as we age, this same inner fortitude programs our brains to write cheques that our bodies simply cannot cash and while this is disheartening to some; it is a clue that we may be able to manage our pain levels by limiting our "body spend".

Your Health Matters,
Dr. Jody Anderson

Next Blog Post I will discuss Pain Management strategies

Blog "Background" and "About" Jody Anderson

This first "POST" will serve largely as a background to the why and who is behind the Blog: Dr. Jody Anderson, Human and Planet MATTERS.  There does come a time in one's life, when publicly expressing opinions and ideas is required, perhaps if only to test what one may come to believe is true and important.  For me, ever-learning, I take that plunge into openly communicating and sharing with a broad audience through the blog-sphere; with an express and open-ended intent to challenge my own self; to continue learning and to hopefully somehow, someway inspire others as I have been so privileged. 

Background

In addition to my family, I focus my “social” energy on 2 key areas: 

Humans & Our Planet

Human Matters

"Clinical Practice"


With humans, I have been engaged in “Sport”, and the study of “Human Performance” for decades, and through my privileged access to High performance professional and Olympic-level athletes, business leaders, academics, parents and professionals, I have had a unique front-seat-opportunity to evaluate and measure “why” and “how” humans perform differently and what is required to perform at highest levels of output; I am particularly interested to understand measurable factors that impact human “performance-output”, and I have developed working dynamic models, to apply what may be referred to as Practical Learned Insights, real-time and broadly, through various “Practical” Outlets and opportunities over past many years. 


Independent clinical type research is ongoing in the field of Sport, and specifically the impact of athletic injuries, including head trauma with a focus on treatment outcomes and related research into impact on performance of the injured athlete and retired injured-athlete.  An ongoing study of Dr. Ted Carrick's research and work, combined with lessons learned from my early clinical mentor, Dr. Fred Kahn, MD under whom I completed a 4-year Clinical Fellowship, have provided basis for a lifetime interest and curiosity about the healing potential and to resume High Performance activity following injury. I am particularly interested in advancing practical applications and exploring therapeutic benefits of Low Intensity Laser Therapy in the wound healing, arthritic, and pain-suffering populations with an end goal to improve quality of life while reducing Health Care costs for private and public Health Systems, Employer Groups, and Teams. Drawing from my invaluable practical experience in the arena of sport injuries and returning elite athletes safely and rapidly to performance-level form, I intend to expand my work within the High Performance athletic arena, where I am able to utilize secure and real-time Internet connectivity to assess, treat and monitor athletes; and through a developing Training Platform, we can teach, train and support Team Medical Staff and clinicians, globally. The boundaries are limitless.


In the field of sports medicine and assessment in general, I have benefited from regular access to a seasoned physical prohabilitation-doctor, who is a brilliant medical acupuncturist and diagnostician, Dr. Anthony Lombardi, who has consulted into Professional level sports Teams and major Medical Associations, around the world. We are exploring practical ways to integrate his systematic clinical framework EXSTORE, a revolutionary process that improves accurate assessment, and "real-time" treatment of complex physical conditions, including sport related injuries, common at the weekend warrior level to Professional, Olympic and Club level amateur athletes.   


The hidden blessing of investigating treatment solutions to resolve my own past sport-related injuries and debilitating pain syndrome, has been the privileged invitation through clinical practice to help people live their own better quality of life - whether they be an injured professional athlete; a CEO who is required to lead people and requires mental focus, acuity and high level performance capability; or a grandmother suffering from chronic pain. I have observed the human-factor even the playing field in peoples' lives, where injury; chronic pain; physical dysfunction; and related mental clarity, focus and ability to perform basic or high level tasks, affect humans equally with proportionate impact.


"Performance Practice"

Human Performance is a broad topic that caught my attention while studying kinesiology at University of Western Ontario under professors like Don Morrow,  Jerry Gonser, Ray Takahishi, and Al Morrow who planted seeds about athletic and human potential, as a process that revolves around the functional, human, whole individual. In this space of "Performance", I pursued opportunity to consult into the N. American Occupational Health sector via the field of Ergonomics, where I focused on Productivity and Health of humans and ROI for Corporations. As result of the research and development work I was doing on office design, I was led to leading ergonomics and Human Factors researcher, Dr. Alan Hedge, Cornell University; Through this field I had unique and privileged opportunity to consult into the birthplace of ergonomics, at The University of Michigan and into some of the largest Corporations in the world. 

Within the field of Fitness and Performance, I accepted an invitation to consult into the Fitness Industry with a focus on speaking and writing about Health & Wellness matters; while the bulk of my athletic work has been invested into Olympic, Professional and High Performance level athletes, where I have been privileged to work in various capacities with Athletes, Team Officials and Management; Medical personnel; Professional Agents and Parents seeking to yield increased athletic output and performance.

In the athletic arena, I am presently conducting independent research related to Head Traumas in Sport (specifically Hockey and treatment-outcomes focused), and separately, the impact of Low Intensity Laser Therapy (LILT) on Performance of injured Elite Athletes with an express intent to continue work within major Hockey Organizations and Teams. 

I will continue to contribute to select magazines and media outlets and will narrow my Performance-focus into several related BLOGS that pertain to Sport and Athletics with a primary interest in exploring the impact of Sport on Life; and Performance, generally. Under the main BLOG Sport MATTERS  I will exchange ideas with a larger audience, with an idea to foster collaboration for a unified purpose, that serves the development of athletes as productive and high performing people, within society through Sport.

My Canadian roots and first love, "Hockey", where I gained sense of accomplishment through hard work, team work and discipline is where I intend to invest considerable resource, during this next phase of my life.  In addition to working with athletes, Teams and Sporting Organizations, I will develop several related BLOGS under the "Sport MATTERS" umbrella, starting with Hockey MATTERS, Coaching MATTERS, Team MATTERS and Recruiting MATTERS.

These BLOGS are at various stages of ideation and development, and will serve as my future medium to exchange ideas.  Your patience is appreciated

I am particularly interested in Change-Behaviour, and am working with a Tier One group who developed The Monarch System, which is an evidence-based set of practical tools; and a delivery platform; geared towards the improved quality of care, improved clinical outcomes and increase in health professionals' job satisfaction, within the health care field.  On the Corporate-Performance front, I am committed to pushing the boundaries of human output and productivity, where the same is sought.  I will continue to raise awareness within Companies, Organizations, and through various media outlets about the causal link between Planet Health and Human Health, and will investigate and discuss the custodial responsibility and related opportunity Corporations, Governments and large Organizations have within the Stewardship and Management of our planet's resources. Through this process, I hope and intend to develop practical ways to improve processes that result in lower planet and human impact.  This nascent opportunity is very exciting and has a personal element to it, as it will directly impact my own family and future generations of young people.  This will developed mostly under a BLOG Post, called Planet MATTERS.

Planet Matters

I am a rural-Ontario native and was an early adopter of the eco-friendly "movement" when I was compelled to advocate an early version of the Earth Saver Program while acting as a volunteer for YMCA of Canada, following completion of a life changing eco-adventure excursion I took with Outward Bound, in 1992.  For the past decade-plus, I have participated in the mindful design of Glacier Valley, B.C. a 62-acre sustainably-developed naturally majestic property which, I was inspired to commit to, following an introduction to Rex Weyler’s HollyHock Learning Centre on Cortes Island.  Rex Weyler was co-founder of Greenpeace and was a Board-level advisor on an Alternative Health Portal project I worked on, where I held a senior executive position. 


We are actively recruiting Thought-Leaders and Change-Makers to join in the start up Membership to Lead at the Sustainability & Innovation Institute, on Glacier Valley. If genuinely interested, please contact me here.


I am returning to "my roots", that originally provided financial ability to pursue an education at The University of Western, Ontario, (King's College) in Canada, where for approximately ten years I consulted into Schools, large Organizations and several Fortune 1000 Companies;  this unique work experience combined with ongoing and focused research, has led me to accept various interesting work roles, including the development of a Sustainable Merchandise Program for Earth Day Canada.  It is well understood that Corporations, Governments, Schools and Organizations are prime candidates to “Green-UP”, where I enjoy sharing my own related experience and interest to collaborate.   I will consult into industry under an umbrella organization, GreenCo, that provides Sustainable Merchandise services to Marketing Departments, Health & Wellness Officers, Sustainability Groups and Environmental Teams at large Companies, Organizations, Not-For-Profits, Cause Initiatives, and at Government level.

Consultation into corporate-level groups is anchored on volumes of researched data, that underscore the importance of reducing our Chemical Load, and to helping Leaders find new ways of doing things (everything), that reduce human and planet risk while promoting and protect our well-being.  I have gained privileged direction from Company leaders; leading University researchers from around the world, and via The Father of Natural Medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil, MD who has been singularly raising our social consciousness to new heights for past several decades.  

I will narrow my outreach to include focused writing under the BLOG Planet MATTERS; Corporate consulting through GreenCo; select speaking engagements and workshop delivery through a dedicated media platform partnership.

Current "Performance" Projects


      Sport-Related

• Investigating, documenting and publishing “Athletic Performance & Output” success-factors

• Analyzing Success-factors and creating applicable “Predictive Modeling” formulae and    real-time and virtual tools (skating, golfing and running) 

• Researching (interviewing some of the “Greats of Sport”) and committed to writing (Book & Blogs) about the measurable and immeasurable links between Life Success & Sport (and vice-verse) with an intention to share and teach Youth, Coaches and Parents 

      Business-Related 

• Working with a Team of capable experts in relevant fields, where we are deep into development of practical tools and workshops positioned to “Smarten-UP®”, “Green-UP®” and Re-THINK® Procurement and manufacturing Practices, starting with Packaging sector; the manufacturing of Sustainable Promotional Merchandise; Safe Drink ware and Textile Industries. Evolution into other sectors is expected and possible.
  

• Developed Smarten-UP® Workshop series: Smarten-UP® Packaging; Smarten-UP Transportation; Smarten-UP® Procurement; Smarten-UP® Design; and Smarten-UP® "Everything" as a low stress way to distribute serious topics, across a focused and professional platform, utilizing best Practices in Human Resources, Technology and Behaviour Change systems
  

• Exploring concepts and practical application of Behaviour Change tools in and around the Innovation Process within Corporate setting, specifically related to Sustainability Initiatives; Health & Wellness, and employee (including and not limited to athlete) Performance matters

Personal Projects

In honour of my deceased mother, I am committed to ongoing and extensive research into the Impact (on Humans) of Low Level Exposure to Chemicals, with a lens on better understanding Chemical Load and the Pathogenesis of Disease.  Motivated for personal reasons (3-of-them include: healthy boys all - Brighton, Preston & Carson Anderson), I have been working closely with an innovative Technology Company, that has developed novel and robust Human & Planet Friendly chemical-alternative technologies.

I am currently an advisor to a Community-led group seeking to establish an Integrative Medical Practice, within an under-serviced rural Community.  The model "seed" for this opportunity and investment of energy was planted long ago via example, by my father a retired High School Librarian, who catalyzed the erection of the Public Library and hockey arena in my own rural, childhood hometown. 

Influenced by a unique one-on-one learning opportunity under Dave Davison, a Social Catalyst and co-founder of Silicon Valley based Innovation Labs and founding member of the original Silicon Valley V.C. Group, Band of Angels, I have continued my study of Innovation and Behavior Change as understudy to an amazing team of Human Behaviouralists, who specialize in Innovative Thinking Methods, Motivational Interviewing and Co-Active Coaching.  Lead by Drs. Jennifer Irwin, PhD and Don Morrow, PhD, both of Monarch System of London, Ontario Canada, where I am engaged in an ongoing exploration and Study of Change and the possibilities that exist within that paradigm.  Applications to their system and technologies are I estimate, infinite and exponential.