Understanding Pain – Part 2: What Else Contributes to Pain?
In our previous blog post, we explored what pain really is — not just a signal of damage, but your body’s protective alarm system.
Now, let’s take it a step further.
Pain Isn’t Just Physical
Pain can be influenced by more than just injury or illness. Your stress levels, emotional wellbeing, and life events can all play a role in how pain is experienced.
This more complete understanding is known as the biopsychosocial model of pain.
What Is the Biopsychosocial Model of Pain?
This model recognises that pain is shaped by a combination of:
Bio (body): injuries, illness, physical strain
Psycho (mind): anxiety, low mood, poor sleep
Social: work stress, life changes, relationship pressures
These factors don’t act alone — they interact and influence each other. Together, they contribute to how much pain you feel, and how long it lasts.
Your Pain Is Real and Valid
Even when scans or tests don’t show visible damage, your pain is still real.
Pain is your brain and nervous system responding to what they perceive as a threat — whether that’s physical, emotional, or environmental.
It’s not “just in your head.” Your pain experience is valid, and it’s your body’s way of saying: something needs care or attention.
🪣 The Bucket Analogy
Imagine that all the stress your body and mind experience — physical, emotional, and even social — is like water filling up a bucket.
Everyday things like poor sleep, work stress, intense exercise, or emotional challenges all add a bit of water to your bucket.
Now, what happens when the bucket gets too full?
💧 It overflows — and that’s often when pain or a flare-up occurs.
So, how do we keep the bucket from overflowing?
Recognise that all types of stress count
It’s not just physical stress (like lifting or exercising) — emotional and social stress also add water to your bucket. Things like poor sleep, work pressure, or relationship changes matter too.Look at your total stress load over the past month
Pain often isn’t about what happened today — it’s the accumulation of stress over time. Think back: have you been pushing through a lot lately, physically or emotionally?If you notice stress building up, balance it out by reducing stress in other areas
This might mean:Reducing the intensity or duration of physical activity
Taking more rest breaks
Prioritising recovery — sleep, food, hydration, downtime
Pain is influenced by more than just injury — it’s the result of how your body, mind, and life stresses build up over time, and by managing that overall load, you can reduce flare-ups and feel more in control.