Bridging the Pain Gap: My NZ massage article

Hi all

I recently had the fortunate opportunity to have an article published in NZ massage magazine. I wanted to share my thoughts with the evidence on the changing landscape in understanding pain and its multi-dimensional nature.

I decided to share a small reflection on the article to highlight the change in my own personal growth in understanding, teaching and exploring the vast chasm that is pain. Reading back through the article I want to add a correction. The word ‘suffering’ is not an appropriate word because it renders the individual with persistent pain as unable to cope or live with pain. Since I wrote the article I have identified that this is an inaccurate term. Therefore the word ‘suffering’ should be replaced with ‘living well’ or ‘learning to live well’.

As I have also come to learn using a bridge may not be an appropriate metaphor either to understanding pain, due to its complexity. Jason Silvernail’s example of navigating the chasm is something that resonated with me. Pain is a maze or a dark room, navigating is something that may be more appropriate to describe the journey that some individuals face in learning to live well with pain. On the other hand some times people need a bridge or a helping hand to guide them in the right direction.

I hope you enjoy the article

TNP