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Charlie Merrill

@charliemerrill

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⭐️ Reconceptualize why you’re in pain.
🧠 Unlearn & cure your symptoms.
🏃‍♀️ Perform your best in sport & life.

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We all think pain is an invitation to work on the body. To fix it. To change it. To improve our physical fitness. Yet exercise doesn’t reliably create change. Your body is rarely the cause of most pain or other chronic symptoms. It’ trying to communicate a far more interesting message. Message me if you want to learn more. by @charliemerrill

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6 days ago

Sunday Shortie: Pain will subconsciously set the boundary for you. But know that you always have the agency to learn to do it consciously so that pain is no longer necessary. by @charliemerrill

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7 days ago

Flip the script. Pick something joyful. Do it scared. Start at a level that feels safe enough. Regardless of how it goes the first time, try it again. In order to create change, to harness neuroplastic city, you have to do something different. You have to surprise your mind and body with something unexpected. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. by @charliemerrill

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9 days ago

If you don’t choose variety, pain often does it for you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily talking about rest. Although that can be helpful too. I’m simply talking about mixing things up. You might still go to the gym, but instead of lifting heavy weights, you switch to Pilates or kickboxing or a group class. You might put the bike away for a bit and dive into CrossFit. Or give Running a rest and take up tai chi. A big variation of what you’re already doing, or something completely different. Well, it’s hard to believe, there’s so much crossover between different movement practices and sports. They all enhance each other. Not to mention the psychological and physical rest that comes from changing it up. What do you think? Do you plan to build some novelty and variety into your fall fitness and movement practice? taken in Canoe Club by @charliemerrill

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10 days ago

Your brain can learn pain. And it doesn’t take months to do it. In fact, most acute pain is, or quickly becomes, neuroplastic when the conditions are right. Our brains learn quickly when danger is salient and scary. Don’t wait until it becomes chronic to start treating it from the top down. Treat the body, of course. But don’t forget about the role of the brain. Of the mind. While pain can be learned, it can also be unlearned. Don’t wait until pain becomes chronic. It’ll totally change your recovery from even the worst surgery, injury, or wildlife encounters. 😉 ❤️ by @charliemerrill

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18 days ago

In my experience, most acute (new) pain is not due to injury. 9/10 of the new pains that I get in my body aren’t a result of damage or tissue changes. Rather simply my brain’s opinion of what’s happening in the moment. Sometimes, as in this case, larger danger trumps a lesser one. Then you can see pain for what it is. An early danger alarm. 🐝 🐝 by @charliemerrill

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20 days ago

Again, exercise is great. I’m a big fan. But it’s generally not a primary solution for chronic pain, especially when it’s making things worse. If you feel stuck, there’s another way. While exercise is an important goal, it isn’t always the first thing to address recovery process. taken in NCAR Mesa Trailhead by @charliemerrill

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24 days ago

Exercise and movement are great. But when it comes to pain, most of the time, they miss the whole point. If pain is not a body problem, body based solutions aren’t a reliable remedy. Move your body in healthy ways, yes. But don’t neglect the other more relevant and powerful agents of change. by @charliemerrill

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a month ago

If pain isn’t a problem with the body, we need an alternative explanation for why we hurt. The more your symptoms make sense, the more clear the path forward becomes. This is one of the most powerful steps toward recovery. Let’s collaborate to put the pieces of your story together. #workwithme #painrecovery by @charliemerrill

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a month ago

Pain that’s due to injury and pain that’s due to life stress FEEL the same. Both are real. While the way they behave might be different, the feeling is the same. There is no separate system for structural pain and neuroplastic pain. It’s all real. That’s said, the way you overcome pain can look massively different, depending on the causal variables that underlie the symptoms. But regardless of why you hurt, don’t miss the opportunity to address the non-physical factors that universally amplify our symptoms. by @charliemerrill

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An injury can be real without being the full story.

Pain is influenced by more than what’s happening in the body. Even when someone has experienced an injury or surgery, the brain is also responding to psychological and social factors that can shape how pain is experienced.

That means recovery may take more than treating just the body. We have to understand the person as a whole and recognize all the factors that can influence pain.

#PainAwarenessMonth #Neuroplasticity #ChronicPain #PainRecovery #MindBodyConnection by @charliemerrill

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