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The Path To Wellbeing

The Link Between Injuries and Your Beliefs, Actions, and Recovery 5 whys acute pain athletic injury body awareness chronic pain injury recovery injury rehab limiting beliefs painfreeathlete sports injury Apr 03, 2025

This winter was a season of injuries in my house. It started with my husband Ken’s calf pain while running in December and my foot swelling and stiffness after cross-country (xc) skiing a few weeks ago. Both disabilities were new to us, issues we had not previously experienced. Our approach to recov...

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Visual Illusions and Your Perception of Pain chronic pain lorimermoseley neuroplasticity pain and perception pain neuroscience education pain revolution pain science education painfreeathlete painrevolutiontour2024 persistent pain pne pse rubber hand illusion ruraloutreachtour Mar 04, 2025

What you see affects your pain. And your senses–what you see, hear, feel, taste, and touch–contribute to your perceptions, including your perception of pain. The book, Pain and Perception, explains perception as an answer to the question: “What does it all mean?” Basically, it’s how the brain makes ...

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What's Heart Rate Variability (HRV) got to do with chronic pain? brain coherence chronic pain heart coherence heart rate variability heartmath hrv persistent pain pns polyvagal theory relaxation response resonance resonance frequency breathing sns steven porges stress response vagus nerve ventral vagal Feb 13, 2025

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is quickly becoming a popular biometric to measure wellness, with several watches tracking this data and numerous apps analyzing it. But what is HRV?

 

Understanding HRV

HRV denotes the relationship and synchrony between the heart and the brain. It measures the “diffe...

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Chronic Pain: A Balancing Act Between Feeling Safe or Threatened biopsychosocial chronic pain danger dim nervous system painfreeathlete painscience protectometer safety self healing sim stress threat Jan 09, 2025

Our emotional state impacts our chronic pain experience. Thus, feeling safe or threatened can increase, decrease, or completely eliminate the sensation of chronic pain. Essentially, how much something hurts is often dependent on our circumstances and whether we feel secure or in danger. To understan...

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The "Perfect" No-Stress Gift for the Season: Your Presence gifts holidays painfreeathlete presence relationships stress-free validation Dec 10, 2024

It is that time of year when most of us search for the “perfect” gift to give our loved ones. I, however, gave that up some years ago. When I was young, holiday gift-giving was a hassle-filled, anxiety-provoking obligation that often ended with tears of disappointment and a return trip to the store....

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Practice Acceptance and Kindness on Your Painful Days 2024 election acceptance act chronic pain healing chronic pain kindness pain self care self-compassion stress stress management stress relief stress response suffering Nov 05, 2024

Today’s U.S. presidential election is a top stressor for Americans. An American Psychiatric Association survey conducted last month found that nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are anxious about the election results. With increased stress often comes increased pain, generally experienced as flare...

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A Pictorial Recap of the 2024 Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour chronic pain lorimermoseley pain neuroscience education pain revolution pain science education painfreeathlete painrevolutiontour2024 persistent pain pne pse ruraloutreachtour Oct 30, 2024

Wow what a trip! I am so thankful for the opportunity to ride in the Rural Outreach Tour in Australia and sincerely appreciate everyone in the Pain Free Athlete community that donated to the Pain Revolution. With your help I surpassed my fundraising goal. And it's not too late! You can donate to thi...

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Personality, Chronic Pain & Cancer cancer risk maté mind body syndrome painfreeathlete persistent pain personality traits schubiner stress type c personality Sep 05, 2024

Certain personality traits increase your chance of suffering from chronic pain. Interestingly, some of these same personality traits also raise your risk of developing cancer. Hmm . . . as a person who has had both, knowing this information gives me pause and reason to pay attention. It also gives m...

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Sports Throughout the Lifespan 2024 olympics aging gymnastics keep active mountain biking painfreeathlete sports fan sports performance Aug 01, 2024

At the start of August 2024 the Tour de France, a grueling 21-day road cycling race, had recently ended and the Summer Olympics had begun in Paris. What a great time to be a sports fan! 

When I was young, I dreamed of being in the Olympics. Maybe you did, too! I remember spending many summer school...

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Am I okay to move and play? chronic pain mind body syndrome neuroplastic pain pain science painfreeathlete psychogenic pain stress tms Jul 02, 2024

This is a question many of us ask ourselves and may struggle to answer. Put more simply, we might say, should I go out and [fill in the blank with your planned exercise/sport] today, or should I stay home and take it easy? Our response depends on the origin of the pain. Below is my answer, told thro...

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Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour chronic pain lorimermoseley pain neuroscience education pain revolution pain science education painfreeathlete painrevolutiontour2024 persistent pain pne pse ruraloutreachtour Jun 04, 2024

Last month I mentioned one of my "strong professional yeses was a super cool adventure that combines a couple of my passions." This is it: the Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour! This is a cycling tour in Australia that’s meant to spread advanced pain science knowledge and skills to rural communiti...

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Sabbatical Lesson: Know Thyself childhood trauma limiting beliefs meaning mindfulness purpose subconscious mind thepainfreeathlete May 08, 2024

Upon taking my sabbatical leave last June, I left you and myself with this question: What do you want in the next phase of your life? (Blog: Taking a Pause to Reflect, Redirect, and Reinvent)

After posting my sabbatical blog, a wise reader from the Pain Free Athlete community wrote to me with a ver...

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