Injury Recovery
How Personal Labels and Identities Impact Performance and Pain
How we view ourselves matters. Whether we realize it or not, we have strongly held ideas about our abilities and bodies. In other words, we have applied labels to ourselves which in many cases contain a judgement such as, I am a good driver, I have a bad shoulder, I...
Why We Can’t Stop Exercising Despite Pain and Injuries
Athletics can be an addictive behavior. The addiction is as powerful as drinking alcohol, working, shopping, eating, and other similar actions that can be overdone with negative consequences. Similar to all of these behaviors is the desire to tune out and escape the...
The Link Between Injuries and Your Beliefs, Actions, and Recovery
This winter was a season of injuries in my house. It started with my husband Ken’s calf pain while running in December and my foot swelling and stiffness after cross-country (xc) skiing a few weeks ago. Both disabilities were new to us, issues we had not previously...
Chronic Pain: A Balancing Act Between Feeling Safe or Threatened
Our emotional state impacts our chronic pain experience. Thus, feeling safe or threatened can increase, decrease, or completely eliminate the sensation of chronic pain. Essentially, how much something hurts is often dependent on our circumstances and whether we feel...
Practice Acceptance and Kindness on Your Painful Days
Today’s U.S. presidential election is a top stressor for Americans. An American Psychiatric Association survey conducted last month found that nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are anxious about the election results. With increased stress often comes increased...
A Pictorial Recap of the 2024 Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour
Wow what a trip! I am so thankful for the opportunity to ride in the Rural Outreach Tour in Australia and sincerely appreciate everyone in the Pain Free Athlete community that donated to the Pain Revolution. With your help I surpassed my fundraising goal. And it's not...
Personality, Chronic Pain & Cancer
Certain personality traits increase your chance of suffering from chronic pain. Interestingly, some of these same personality traits also raise your risk of developing cancer. Hmm . . . as a person who has had both, knowing this information gives me pause and reason...
Am I okay to move and play?
This is a question many of us ask ourselves and may struggle to answer. Put more simply, we might say, should I go out and [fill in the blank with your planned exercise/sport] today, or should I stay home and take it easy? Our response depends on the origin of the...
Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour
Last month I mentioned one of my "strong professional yeses was a super cool adventure that combines a couple of my passions." This is it: the Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour! This is a cycling tour in Australia that’s meant to spread advanced pain science...
What would you do without your pain?
As discussed in my last blog, being preoccupied with pain can be all-consuming. For several of my clients, pain is the first thing on their minds in the morning. As soon as they wake, these clients actively seek out their pain, scanning their body for it and, if/when...
How to End Your Preoccupation with Pain
Do you continually worry about and focus on your pain? Do you put pressure on yourself to figure out how to fix your pain and become frustrated or angry when the pain doesn’t go away? Do you degrade yourself because you’re still hurting? Do you fight against the pain...
Pain As My Teacher – I can’t shoulder it all
Two weeks ago, I developed severe right shoulder pain and stiffness. It was excruciating to move in any direction, and I couldn’t get into a comfortable position to rest. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to meet with clients, teach my class, or ride my bike. The...
The Perfect Storm of Chronic Pain
A perfect storm, like chronic pain, emerges when numerous factors combine simultaneously. Merriam-Webster defines “perfect storm” as “a critical or disastrous situation created by a powerful concurrence of factors.” Let’s substitute chronic pain into this definition:...
Healing Chronic Pain – what will it take for you?
Chronic pain is a complex experience. I like to say that it is a whole person experience affecting many aspects of one's life that goes far beyond an unpleasant physical sensation. On my client intake form, I ask, “Do you have any ideas about what it is going to...
3 Exercises to Relieve Neck Pain
This is the second blog in a two-part series on neck pain. Read the first blog: Neck Pain and Posture. This is a collaboration with Dr. Michael L. Rothman, M.D. Dr Rothman is a former orthopedic surgeon and Advanced Exercise Therapist (AET), certified by the Egoscue...
Meet Jessica!
I believe we are designed to move and play throughout our entire lives. I don’t buy into the idea that we should slow down with age, or that pain, injury and physical restrictions are unavoidable aspects of growing older. So, here’s my philosophy. Our mental mindset, combined with the physical position and condition of the body that we bring into any activity (from walking to skiing to everything in between), determines our chance of hurting when we move. If we have a positive mindset, and if we have proper positioning and move with correct body biomechanics, all activities should be possible.
This is the goal I have for everyone: to overcome pain and limitations so you can Stay in the Game for Life!
Visit The Pain Free Athlete website for additional resources and opportunities.
