Why Your Mindset Is a Vital Aspect of Pain and Healing

Severe or chronic pain affects nearly 50 million American adults, reports a new study prepared by National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which was published in The Journal of Pain last summer. About half of these people are suffering from chronic pain every single day. Steven, the subject of Sonima.com’s new video series called “Becoming Pain Free,” is one of them.

The 34-year-old independent filmmaker and photographer, who just moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Melanie, and 5-year-old son, Victor, has been battling consistent joint pain in his legs, wrists, and lower back—a byproduct of his profession that requires holding heavy camera equipment for hours—for about nine years. It’s common for Steven to wake up with numb arms and feet and unable to walk. When doctors couldn’t help him address the pain, he turned to Pete Egoscue, Sonima.com’s pain and anatomy advisor, author of multiple books including Pain Free, and creator of the Egoscue Method, an exercise therapy program—taught at more than 25 clinics worldwide—designed to treat chronic pain without prescription painkillers or invasive surgery.

In episode seven of this video series, Steven travels to Florida to meet with Pete Egoscue, founder of the Egoscue Method, and together they discuss some of the psychological underpinnings of why so many people remain in chronic pain for years. By empowering the individual to examine and correct the source of pain, the Egoscue Method makes it possible for people to live their lives free of limitations they once considered inevitable outcomes of their physical makeup or lifestyle.

After meeting with Egoscue, Steven returns to Los Angeles to meet with his Egoscue specialist, Brian. This week they focus on relieving symptoms Steven is experiencing in his arm and wrist after moving a large tree in his house. The exercises, combined with Steven’s new perspective on pain, allow him to make more progress on his journey. As Brian says, the exercises are important, but once you change the belief system it’s an easy transformation from there.