When Something Hurts, Investigate It.

Pain is almost always an offering of information, likely urgent.

When it comes to our bodies and pain, many and I mean MANY (no shade) of us tend to ignore the pain. It’s normal. To continue to function, our bodies find the path of least resistance and create new ways to move in order to survive.

We are definitely built to do this for a time, but it’s kind of like driving on a spare tire. You can’t drive on the freeway, and at some point you have to fix the tire to drive fully. When you’re using different paths of movement and bypassing the areas that are supposed to be responsible for the movement, you fatigue those other pathways and they themselves start to break down.

When you feel pain or discomfort somewhere in your body, try not to ignore it, because you’ll get more information if you investigate it.

Back in August, my Mom was experiencing some digestive discomfort. Her stomach tightened up every time she ate, and she asked me if I had any ideas as to what could be the problem. In my world, so much of digestive discomfort comes from restricted fascia around the visceral organs, but what she was describing sounded kind of severe. We investigated it. I had her lay her belly over a rolled up towel and breathe diaphragmatically, expanding her belly against the towel and allowing the towel to absorb into her belly on her exhale. If there were fascial restrictions present, she would have felt her belly releasing and relaxing—a textbook response to pressure and breath. But she didn’t. There was no change in her visceral sensations, and it indicated to me that her problem wasn’t fascial or muscular. She ended up getting a CT scan a few weeks later and they found a tumor on her pancreas.

Investigating pain by treating your soft tissue is an excellent first line of defense. Not only can it treat the pain so much of the time because your nervous system lives in your fascia and fascial restrictions will produce a pain signal in the nerves, but if it doesn’t relieve the pain, then there’s your indication to seek medical intervention.

The most profound way to investigate your own tissues is with soft pressure. This soft ball is one of the best tools I’ve ever encountered for self, soft-tissue investigation. It’s small enough to target the spot of discomfort, and soft enough not to injure it further should it veer toward having a negative reaction to the pressure. It also makes a fantastic holiday gift for your self-care-curious loved ones.

When you’re using a soft tool to investigate, you don’t have to worry much about doing it wrong since the pressure is gentle. If it feels like relief, you’re on the right track. If it feels like alarm bells, back away and ask yourself if the sensation you’re experiencing feels challenging yet productive, OR just straight up wrong.

With the right guidance, you’ll be confident that you’re doing it well and right. My $7/month Patreon membership has everything you need to know you’re safely investigating your aches and pains with a foam roller. With a full library of guided techniques in every spot you can imagine, you won’t ever be wondering what you’re supposed to be doing or feeling in any one place. Upgrade to $12/month for full foam rolling classes and full-body relaxation. The Patreon is free for 7 days! Give it a look.

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Pain can be emotional, too. In this season of my life, there is much pain in my heart and my body caused by grief and sorrow. There is no way around it for me, I must move through it to fully process the physical pain of losing someone I love so the pain doesn’t fester and create grievances inside my own body. When it hurts, don’t ignore it. Muster up the courage to investigate it so that you can process it and, eventually, set it free. The pain and discomfort your body presents you with is trying to tell you something. The pain is always there for a reason.

Since my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September my communication with all of you has been more sparse. I’ve been slowly, naturally, retracting my extroverted energy and turning my resources inward, pulling my family and closest friends closer. The time we have with the people we love is our most precious and fragile possession, and the finite time I have left with my mom is a generous gift from the universe that I intend to take full advantage of.

This is my last Substack newsletter for the season, friends. I wish you precious time with the people you love over the next several weeks. May you recognize when you’re given a gift, even if it’s cloaked in pain. You might not know there’s a treasure in there somewhere until you investigate it.

Love,

Maggie

My mom and me on the San Francisco Bay, 2011. Havin’ a ball as always.