The nature of pain.

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GORDON
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The nature of pain.

Post by GORDON »

Something TPR said a while back has been rolling around in my skull.... he doesn't understand why people exercise when it is just so damned painful.

That has had me wondering.

Are women right, are some people just much more prone to being debilitated by pain and discomfort, like how girls merely stop working in the fields for a few seconds to squat out a baby and then get back to work, and when men have the sniffles they are laid up in bed for 3 days?

Or is it all in our heads, mind over matter, "If you don't mind, then it don't matter," as we used to say back in the platoons. Is pain a thing you can condition your brain to truly ignore, and not process?

Now, I fully believe that not all bodies are built the same. If you look at the muscle fiber of different species, some are built for endurance, and some are built for brute strength. A 200 pound swimmer is going to bruise your face in a fight, but a 200 pound chimpanzee is going to rip your arm off and beat you to death with it. I *believe* humans have small variations, as well. Some can put on the mass easier, some can build up endurance easier. But nobody gets to either point without conditioning, and in my experience, good conditioning usually comes with a good amount of discomfort. When I am trying to make gains, either in strength of endurance, I don't feel like I am getting anywhere unless I am sweating, breathing hard, and grunting with effort. I have also been doing this on and off since I was 15... I am no stranger to sore muscles, and usually don't think twice about the pain of it after that set is done.

Now, I am not saying I am some kind of paragon of fitness. I remember when I was actually IN the Marines, and I would see myself putting out 105% (taking myself over the redline and actually causing damage I still feel to this day) of my power just to keep up with guys who were joking around and didn't even seem to feel it. I was a good Marine, but holy FUCK the long hikes fucked me the fuck up. So I am not speaking as a Greek god from Olympus, talking down to you small, weak humans.... I fucking feel pain. I get having to push hard.

But has my decades of experience coping with it made me indifferent to pain in a way that someone who has never been physical just not understand?

If so, is it possible to become "born again hard" later in life, or is that something that has to be learned when still growing?

Are some peoples' brains just more susceptible to the pain impulses from their limbs? Do they literally process it more, feel it more? The converse being, of course, "No brain, no pain."

Or is it some combination of the above speculations.... or none of them?

Sigh.
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TheCatt
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Re: The nature of pain.

Post by TheCatt »

This book covers some of that, not the pain aspects, but the exercise. They found that some people are actually negative responders to exercise. They don't get better. Others are fast responders (getting much better very quickly), and most people are somewhere in the middle. It also talks about the variety of muscle composition, slow twitch vs fast twitch muscles, genes, etc.

There are also genes about pain tolerance. One particular gene, I have the FEELS MORE PAIN version, and my wife has the feels less pain version. But I'm sure it can be conditioned as well. During PT my therapists have said it's hard for them to figure out where I'm in pain, because I can tune it out. I feel the pain, I just don't react to it. At that point, it's a matter of willpower, etc. I know that ignoring the pain has rewards.
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TPRJones
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Re: The nature of pain.

Post by TPRJones »

When I was young I was impaled on a jagged wooden stake through my gut. When I say it hurts to work out that's the sort of pain I mean. Not discomfort, not unpleasantness; after a few minutes there's the feeling of the muscles being ripped through and torn apart.

I've never minded the sore muscles the next day at all because that's nothing in comparison.
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Malcolm
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Re: The nature of pain.

Post by Malcolm »

Is pain a thing you can condition your brain to truly ignore, and not process?
Up to a certain point.
I would see myself putting out 105% (taking myself over the redline and actually causing damage I still feel to this day)
Like that one.
is it possible to become "born again hard" later in life, or is that something that has to be learned when still growing?
The brain is remarkably adaptable, it's always got the potential. The question is whether the person in question is willing to let it. Most people don't open themselves up to new ideas as time goes on.
Are some peoples' brains just more susceptible to the pain impulses from their limbs? Do they literally process it more, feel it more? The converse being, of course, "No brain, no pain."
Yes. As catt pointed out, there are genetic components. I'd like to add that not feeling pain has significant evolutionary disadvantages, as you'd expect the "feeling more pain" gene pool to have a higher survival rate.
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