How to Immediately Relax Your Nervous System & Reduce Chronic Pain
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
- One of the things with persistent pain/chronic health symptoms is that most people are in a sympathetic (stressed) nervous system state. We are going to cover a way today to learn to turn off that state by using your body. This is a really effective way to immediately switch off your stress system and reduce physical symptoms. I call this a nervous system hack that anyone can learn and you should be able to implement multiple times a day or when symptoms are spiking.
Jim Prussack PT is the founder of The Pain PT. He is a licensed physical therapist who has trained with many of the top leaders in the pain field. Jim has been working with clients in pain for over 20 years. His approach focuses on the brain and nervous system. You can book consultations or learn more www.thepainpt.com
This guy is awesome
I’m so glad there’s other people that have woke up to this new paradigm
Me too! There are several folks who talk about this on RUclips.
I didn't realize that I am un-relaxed most of the time until I laid down for bed last night. I relaxed my body so much that I felt the tension and pain in my back and shoulders melt away. I jumped out of bed this morning without any of the stickiness and soreness that I usually have. Wow! morning feeling brand new ..I can't believe how much better I felt. I ; even when I lay down to sleep at night. So last night I practiced
Wow
What did you do to relax your body ?
As I'm working on overcoming 15 years of chronic pain your videos are of amazing help. Thank you for putting these out, your work is appreciated.
For me the hardest part of my body to keep relaxed is my shoulders.
My Tension..Is 30 Years Practice. I did it thoroughly and Perfectly!
What i always do to totally relax my whole body is to do very Deep and Slow breathing. Also do things very sloooowly, do not rush. This will help reduce stress and further relax the body. The ultimate goal is to 100% totally Relax the body and fully Calm the mind to remove the pain. Also Deep and Slow breathing help to distract away from unwanted negative emotions.
Can you make a calming guided meditation tape that we can do lying down!
this is so helpful...I've already started becoming more aware throughout the day of how I'm "holding" tension in my body...thank you!
Honestly wonderful video bro
Jon Zin Kabat was doing an 8 week mindfulness class in a Boston hospital. He is great to listen to do his guided meditations. Very calming and compassionate man.
Yes he’s great took a course from him years ago mindfulness-based stress reduction
Thank you so much!!
Thank you sir
It’s amazing! I’m very aware of tension in my jaw, but didn’t realize I was holding it all over my body. Thanks for your videos! Really so much appreciated. Bless you!
I’m going to practice thank u
Thank you, thank you, thank you Jim
This technique did wonders for me!
Thank you!
This was excellent. It cut the symptoms by half. Great exercise to keep up with
Bless u for yr help il try this I hv awful constant pain regards uk 🇬🇧
I sent this to a client today to decrease acute pain. Thank you!
Good video
What is the other video you refer to, please? I've only just 'discovered' you and am finding it helpful!
Will this work on chronic fatigue flare up? I learned soo much from your channel, and I am soo grateful.
Thanks for your video. I'm just a bit confused because I heard Alan Gordon saying that tightness has nothing to do with chronic pain but from my understanding of your video, you're saying that it is the tension that creates the pain in a lot of cases.
Can you recommend a good guided deep relaxation video? Thanks
Hi thank you for your helpful videos. A question: what if the pain is while walking, how to apply it then?
Hi,
Thanks for this. Makes a lot of sense. I was just wondering if it works with fatigue and how? When i am doing something else it would be doable to go to the part of the body that hurts and release the tention there. Fatigue is also there during work or other activities. How to use this technique with fatigue? That rimes and makes it sound do much better. 😊
Absolutely wonderful this really lowered my symptoms!! Thanks so very much
I have OA in hip and knee. Other joints reacting. What’s your opinion on hip and knee surgery. Do you think it’s avoidable or just putting it off with this technique
Thank u I hv cronic pain
My body is soooo on relaxed not normal I keep doing this exercise thank you Jim
Also, work on releasing emotions, acknowledging and expressing them that is another key piece of reducing tension and tightness in the body
I’m really trying to practice hard to take my mind of pain
Hi I’ve noticed that my general symptoms can fluctuate due to stress and hyper vigilance however my alloydnia has remained the same all over my knee. My symptoms fyi are knee pain following a knee injury which I was panicked about for an extended period of time leading to this now
I haven’t experienced relief at all when relaxing muscles. It’s taken 70 years of being in holding pattern to get this inflamed. I don’t think it’s going to be like flipping a switch. It’s a constant practice all day long to let go, let go, let go. Hopefully one day it kicks in.
I think you want to also get to your emotions and make sure you’re mentally relaxed because the brain is the driver of the tension
@@thepainpt so are you saying this is supposed to happen immediately for everyone?
Would this work for male pelvic pain?
How do I do this during fatigue? for example, when doing a minimum amount of exercise, such as walking for 10 minutes. when I feel the symptoms I should take breaths, listen to relaxing music and keep walking?
Hi Jim...I notice my tightness symptoms...Mid right back right down tight leg...I notice when get involved in a conversation or preoccupied
The symptoms really back.off...Could this be T.M.S.?????
Il try
I feel my body tense up against strong emotions. Do you suggest wr do this wet noodle for emotions as well. To expose ourselves to it.
Hi Jim! As soon as i try walking i get severe leg pain. I am bedbound because of cfs. Is it possible that I get these severe pain because i already have very tensed leg muscles and then they get inflammated when i try to walk for a bit in my room? Thanks!
Hey Jim thanks so much for your amazing videos. I always give myself a message with a tennis ball because I have a lot of tender spots in my body. Should I continue doing the message and practice the relaxation techniques or not?
You can do those things for some relief but if it doesn’t go away in a reasonable amount of time then you wanna look deeper towards your stress and emotions
Hey Jim! What if you can’t feel tension? I cannot feel any but I get very stressed. And wet noodle technique doesn’t seem to do anything for me
Hi Jim, I've used this exercise a lot for pain and it's definitely on its way down-thanks!. I have CFS so my main symptom is fatigue. Can this help with fatigue as well?
Yes, can help with many symptoms because you are calming your nervous system down
I am getting it hard to relax my periformis and other dip muscles in my hip which have been tensed for the last 2.5 years. Would love any advice. Thanks so much!
Mentally calm and physically relax into tension. Look at your emotions as well
For me jim.ime sure my pain.is the fascia.will just meditating relaxation get rid of this constant pain without any other trestment
It possibly can but Its good to also work directly at the brain level to change beliefs and work with the emotional brain
@@thepainpt it's coming from theri still think it controls the oxygen as I get click popping sounds in fascia.the limbic brain
is it common to have dissociation due to living in chronic pain? feeling disconnected from the body.?
Would this be equivalent to yoga nidra?
Thank you for your helpful videos Jim. I've been suffering from post operative nerve pain in my feet for six years now, which has got steadily worsening. My feet have become so sensitised that even having a cover over them or wearing socks and shoes sets off the neuralgia, which is especially bad at night. I can completely relax the muscles, but the nerve pain continues, and now often spreads up my legs and lower back. The MRIs showed no sign of stump neuromas following excisions of Morton's neuromas in both feet, so I'm pretty sure this is a MBS symptom, but I'm really struggling to reset the nerve pathways that are creating this pain. Have you any further suggestions to supplement the Somatic tracking exercises? It's as though my brain has a timed response which wakes me up at night with pain.
You’ve got to get cortical strength meaning the pre-from the cortex needs to get stronger to regulate the amygdala and also you may need to look at emotions as well
Do you believe that stretching or diet doesn’t matter at all? Cause I’ve self diagnosed for years and thought i had candida posterior pelvic tilt leaky gut but have done things to fix it and it stayed so i believe in tms but i still feel like eating sugar and junk makes me stay stuck in fight or flight but some of the teachings say it’s not the food at all.just curious
I definitley think that food is important there’s plenty of studies show that how we eat does affect the body. As far as stretching goes though the research is less clear it doesn’t really show much of a benefit for protecting against injuries. It does stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system so helps us relax so it’s not a bad thing to do and if you enjoy it go ahead and do it
Brilliant. You’ve increased my quality of life more than I can say. Thank you just scratches the surface of my gratitude. God bless and keep you. 🫶🤗🥹
I have so much tension in my neck. I feel like my head is a dead weight. I feel electrical impulses in my scalp and it scares me. It’s anxiety that’s causing it. When I’m sitting trying to relax I’m struggling to keep my head up. Any tips would be appreciated.
I'm struggling to relax when I'm walking/moving round the house /doing things (not able to go out at mo with pain) which is causing terrible pain in my lower back & also legs. It's all linked to/started with becoming aware of my fear of activity a couple of months ago, having had ME/CFS the past few years (getting ill after activity) & now fearing the pain too. I'm trying to sag my back when I'm doing this (tho legs feel more difficult to relax) but struggling to feel the fear/anger somatically when I'm moving /walking as not relaxed (though having lot more success with this sitting/lying down) so the pain increases, feels a vicious circle. I accept it's the brain /nervous system & nothing structurally wrong with me. Can you suggest anything more to help with moving/walking?
Hi Ann yes just start moving more and more gradually what we call graded exposure. The key is to break the link between your activity and the symptoms. you want to be talking to your brain telling yourself it’s TMS and letting it go because you need to retrain your nervous system and brain that what you’re doing is normal again. You can’t go by the symptoms because that’s the classic roller coaster of chronic pain and you’ll find that you’ll never get out of it.If you need more help just reach out that’s what I’m here for with coaching support take care
@@thepainpt Thank you so much. What can I do though like today when the pain in my back/legs/head/neck is so bad? I'm going to reply to yr email today. Ann 🌺
Hey mate thanks for the video! Just wondering where you learnt this technique? Cheers :)
Remind myself..Like every 5 minutes! Lol
Thanks, this makes a lot of sense and I'll definitely try it. My pain is in my bladder (lasts hours, after emptying it - had it for 30 years following a bladder infection).
I have no idea if it's caused by muscle tension but accept that it could be. Thing is, I don't feel that my pelvic floor muscles are held in; also that's not where the pain is. And I don't have control over any other muscles down there. I don't even know what muscles are there.
It's not like relaxing an arm or a leg. If you have any tips I'd much appreciate it. And, to repeat, I will certainly try this approach to the extent I am able.
Many thanks 👍
Notice if your belly is pulled in- let it out if it is. So many people hold in their bellys- creating tension there.
@@thepainpt Yes, I find it almost impossible not to hold my tummy in! I'm working on it. I suppose that's an indication that things are tense, rather than having a direct link to my bladder?? Anyway, thanks Jim 😊
@@alandry6872 100% that is tension. let your tummy out as much as you can that should help!
@@thepainpt Thanks, much appreciated!
@@thepainpt I was told as a kid by my mom that I should always suck my stomach in and wear a girdle, that when a woman walks NOTHING should move. Welcome fibromyalgia. Any wonder?
Hey Jim. I have had near constant tension headaches for about 4 years. I used to try to avoid and not think about the feeling for the first few years. This year I have been learning to feel it and accept it and has become less frequent. Can I do this relaxation response every time my pain comes up? Would love your feedback.
Yes absolutely what you need to do! keep doing that it should keep breaking down distress response from the brain that’s coming out as headaches
Healing Chronic Pain- The Pain PT thanks for the advice as it does help. The feeling of my pain comes on right after I feel a little stress and sometimes I just feel the pain as stress. Would you recommend to only put focus on these sensations when doing somatic tracking or meditation? And to gently take my focus away from it when it comes up?
Hsve you tried any of the newer medications for headaches like Zomig. They work really well.
What does it take to break through the severe pain (hip, sciatica, foot leg pain) and get the brain on the right track to recovery? Some days it feels very daunting to stay on this road using pain reprocessing therapy. I’ve been watching your video - somatic tracking- every day but getting discouraged. Maybe I’m just too impatient but it’s been months now and not getting results. I’ve been cleared of any structural cause for the severe pain. It’s definitely TMS/PPD . Your thoughts?
Larry like we mentioned in the other video I think you’re going to need to realize that this is emotional not physical do not listen to the pain in any way. Go ahead and look at your emotions around what happened to you and accept them deeply until they smoot over in your system
Hi Larry:)! What is TMS/PPD? My stuff is- This is my second day here, sorry to bother, if this should be obvious. I have neuropathy/lymphedema in my feet after chemo for inflammatory breast cancer. I have been dealing with chronic pain in my feet for 1 year now. I have had 2 other chronic pain issues in the past. I'm not a stranger to meditation. My emotional trigger for breast cancer is my mother. I attempted to care for her in 2016. I strongly believe my cancer is linked to her and that time period. She has borderline personality disorder and is now hospitalized after being homeless. To large degree, my ego/mind got in the way- again- My yearly mammogram came up clear today :)! To be done with cancer, neuropathy/lymphedema is my great hope! I'll get there, and this time no more pain pop ups! Larry- I hope you're having a good day today :)
Do these techniques work with itchy skin, psoriasis itching?
Yes if it’s nervous system and brain induced Aka stress and emotionally induced
I’d love to get your take on the Wim Hof breathing technique with regard to “pain”. When I do it, I have zero fibro pain. when I get up it starts again but it’s a great refresher. I wonder if done for long enough it would help eliminate the perception of pain also.
The breath can be a good release for stress/toxins as it’s an expression and also works with the nervous system. Keep doing it and also targeting the brain and emotions
Can you, please, explain HOW to do this. Every video I listen to about this (or blog I read) only says 'relax your body/shoulder/jaw/etc' 'let your shoulder relax' 'let your body soften' etc. But HOW. This may make sense if you already know the experience of a relaxed shoulder/jaw/belly/body or already know how to relax a body part....but it makes no sense to me. Any time I've been to a PT/massage therapist/bodyworker/etc and they told me I am holding to much tension, and relax XYZ part or relax my body, I tried. I thought, now I am definitely relaxing, but was always told, that nope, I am not relaxing, not even close to it. We never achieved relaxation. Also, even manually, after coming out of a bodywork session (or whatever else like sauna or therapy or swimming or fun activity), I never ever felt relaxed or loose in my body. Even from childhood I don't remember of such experience. So I guess I don't fully know (only imagine) what I should be going for and definitely have NO idea HOW to achieve this relaxation. Instructions like "relax your body" sound like "well, just speak Chinese/just say it in Chinese" which makes no sense if I don't know a word of Chinese - even worse cuz at least I know how Chinese sounds like but I have no clue how relaxation feels or looks like. My issues are chronic non-stop headaches + also shoulder/neck/upper-back pain btw.
Yes you may have to work deeper on the emotional system to get some relaxation in your body. But essentially what you’re trying to do is let everything sort of sag in your body as if you are a deadweight not holding yourself up at all. It’s letting go as if you’re real passive in the body. Reach out for a consultation if you need further help. Take care
I recommend you few lessons of Alexander technique. This is what really made me know what it means to be relaxed. The feeling after the first meeting was like I could fly away. I didn't feel any part of my body. :D Amazing feeling. It almost made me cry because of how pleasant it was. :)
@@alexandrag.5627 who does the Alexander technique...or what RUclips name?
How do u relax while a migraine is pulsing? I can relax parts such as my back shoulders but find it challenging to do so for migraine bc I also get very nauseous. Thx for any advice
Yes just relax face jaw forehead shoulders neck as best ya can and see if you can let it move though ya
Healing Chronic Pain- The Pain PT Thx u. I will definitely try that. Too my back acted up really bad and I listen again to the somatic tracking which I’m doing daily and it helped me to to not focus on the pain but understand it my brain not an injury and that I’m ok I’m safe. Really like ur videos. Find them very helpful. Appreciate ur quick response as well. Thx
I use Zomig for migraine. Very effective. I make sure that I eat three meals per day and drink lots of water but relaxation as Jim says is very important
Thx. I’ve been doing a lot better. Thx for all the ideas. I’m doing a lot of Jim’s videos somatic tracking really helps nd when needed I take Relpax very effective. But goal is to get off Med as much as possible
Im really sorry, so what is the practice? What should be done to relax?
Have you had any clients who work tense manual physical jobs fully recover ?.
Yes absolutely. It’s about getting your system relax enough that you can handle the work
Any ideas how to increase sleep time . ?
Try to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time every day. That way you get more sleep consistency. Everybody seems to have a slightly different amount of sleep they need to function well so just depends on your system
Hi, thank you for your really useful videos , I’m
Really going to try and relax like you say, I’m recovering from pudenal nerve decompression surgery and I was doing so well, over the last few months my pain has come back and my surgeon says I have a pain cycle from chronic pelvic pain and it’s coming from the brain... can you help?
Hi Natalie: Yes if you need some assistance with this work feel free to reach out. I work with people all over. You can go to wwwthepainpt.com and fill out a consultation request form and I can get back to you. Take care!!
How are you doing 2 months after?
Crazy question .. how do I relax my hip while I’m standing still or walking? That’s where my issue is (cascades down whole leg) but clearly I have to contract the hip in these positions…
In your mind relax first. Then relax the body like a wet noodle it’s like you let some tension out of it like air out of a balloon. Try to walk normally and don’t react to the pain. Relax into the pain
How do I do this during fatigue? for example, when doing a minimum amount of exercise, such as walking for 10 minutes. when I feel the symptoms I should take breaths, listen to relaxing music and keep walking?
I hold tension in my glutes how do I relax that
Do you think tension causes the pain?
I can relax the body very well, but this has little effect on nerve type flare all day long, I'm thinking that nerves are impinged now. And need MRI.
Go ahead and get it checked out if you need to- can help you move forward with diagnosis
If TMS or not
Hello. How do you relax the pelvic floor muscles if you have pain in the perineum?
Notice if you have tension in and around the buttocks, stomach, and lower back. Meaning let the stomach out lower back round buttocks soften. We have all these reflexive postures of tightening and tensing in the body that originate from stress
Thanks
Generally, how long would you hold this?
As much as you can- building mindfulness and keeping it on more often is very therapeutic!
@@thepainpt Thank you. I've got to remember to do this through the day. It really does take the meatballs down.😁👌
I have cfs caused by my connective tissue disease so my doc said. Can this tms help me?
Yes it likely can just need to get your history and put the details together to see if it makes sense
@@thepainpt OK thanks. I have some pain but not much its more the sevsre fatigue. Will I contact you by email with my story?
@@Star5dg you can go to webpage www.thepainpt.com and fill out a consultation request. I’ll get back to you about setting up the initial assessment take care!
@@thepainpt thanks for the info. I've just had a look at you ur website and unfortunately I don't have the finances to commit to the program. Many thanks
Jim, what do you mean by mindfulness?
Being aware and using your conscious mind to see your unconscious patterns. Then choosing something different thats more healthy and breaking down old patterns
Ok gotcha. Thanks for your videos!
I get nauseous when I get anxiety over being in crowds. I am so fearful of the nausea that I am going to vomit and have passed out several times. Do I follow the same protocol to relax? Is nausea TMS or is it the anxiety? Thank you so much!!!
Sounds like a version of TMS. Anxiety can cause the nausea then it sounds like it snowballs to an additional fear of the nausea. See if you can relax into it and break the fear cycle. Take care!
Hy sir! Can u explain on ur comment iam getting suicidal thoughts. Iam just 28 years old.
iam suffering from severe depression And physical bodily pain symptoms for last 3 months, iam taking two psych meds present.. can i tapper of both clonazepam (0.5 mg) & vortioxetin (10mg) have been using for 3 weeks only.. I don't want to stay on these pills which cannot give me relef rather more I'll feeling.. Please advice me n ur support needed 🙏 iam eagerly waiting for ur reply, I don't want to regret in future help me.. Does his idea helps me to overcome depression and physical pain also.. Please help me out
When I try it its so my nervous system be afraid ..
I sleep literally fully tensed up. Jaw tight, knees tight together (they are numb some mornings and I have in the past had bruising on inner knees) and the fallout of this to me is my back pain sciatica buttock and hip pain (I force my hips into the mattress) so to me a definite TMS pain issue. Can this conscious relaxing of those muscles help to retrain my brain into relaxing more in my sleep?
Yes you can retrain your system to relax as well as reducing stress and dealing with emotions helps to reduce the tension in the body
I have a lot of pain in my neck when I’m anxious. And I have anxiety constantly because I’m withdrawing from a benzodiazapine. I may have asked you this before, but if anxiety is caused by damaged gaba receptors during withdrawal, will these techniques still work? Thank you
Robin Elliott
I answered you in another video. Did you Recieve it? I have 25 years experience with Lorazapam and wanted to help you.
kathleen Wharton - hi! Can you message me! I
just now saw your message. I’m interested in hearing what you have to say about benzos & how to regulate the nervous system. Thank you!
Robin Elliott
I took Lorazapam for over 20 years. I had much pain..anxiety and panic from Stress..causing TMS. Then Doctors Took them away..It scared the B-Jesus out of me! I did it really slowly and prayed a lot through sleepless fear filled nights. I had been taking 2mg. Divided into 4 doses. I took half mg. at 5am..11am..5pm and 11pm. faithfully for over 20 years. They never cured anything..but they did make me a little more functionable. I have been off of them a few years now and have learned about TMS so I am now doing that program. I am a perfectionist and I have PTSD from religion. This is the foundation of my problems. You need to Heal the original Problem so you won’t need the Benzos. you could probably work on both at the same time. I didn’t know about TMS when I withdrew. There is NO damage to my brain from them. My brain is excellent. Do Not fear that.
Robin Elliott
This man Jim has been of the greatest of help. You have got the Right man here. I have listened to a few others..but Jim is the Best. He has helped me Most.
What if you can't feel the lower half of your body and it feels numb from the waist down but also tight and in pain. At the same time you're having difficulty swallowing or getting any saliva or moisture, tears, etc. Under these circumstances how in the world can you relax when you feel like your whole body is locked up from your mouth to your hips. I hear your words, but putting it into practice seems elusive.
Yes, can be challenging. Reach out if you need some one on one help. But see if you can surrender and open and relax and settle into symptoms and let them come forth in your body freely and see if that starts to loosen up as you don’t react to them.
@@thepainpt Thank you for responding. I think that will be the hardest thing I've ever done but I'll try and will also reach out when I can.
Wet Noodle..i like That..
Love that idea too. Used it today when back got really bad.
how do one relax the abdomen
Relaxation is more about letting go than doing anything it’s more of a sinking feeling in your body being like a wet noodle I call it
I never have muscle tension, non off it. My kine comfirmed that I have no tension at all. I also don’t have trigger points. Does it mean I don’t have TMS?
No because tension is only one aspect of TMS. Pain can simply come from the brain sending pain signals to nerves, no tension is required for this.
You need time stamps....
My muscles won’t relax anymore. At all. In the slightest. I want to leave my body and life x
Your voice too soft, can hardly hear u even when i turned on the volume to full.