There are 4 possible outcomes from getting an MRI:
What it reveals correlates with your experiences
What it reveals is not enough to match your experiences
It shows us something we didn’t expect
It shows us nothing
The best-case scenario is what we see on the scan matches nicely with what you’re reporting… but what we experience is most of the time, the MRI doesn’t always match up… and there’s probably nothing more invalidating when an MRI comes back completely clear but you’re in PAIN.
“So does that mean I’m just making this up?”
Actually, no… Your pain is very real. Here’s some nerdy stuff about how it works:
The signal from the body part, goes to the spinal cord.
Which then goes to the brain’s distribution centre.
Which then goes to different places, namely:
The somatosensory cortex - where it correlates what you’re feeling and where you’re feeling it from
The thinking brain (prefrontal cortex) - which helps us with context and decision making
The emotional brain (limbic system) - which helps us determine threat, strength of sensation and whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant.
Our brain is subject to conditioning. Whatever we repeat, we adapt to and then start to predict. So, if pain has been there for long enough and it’s strong enough, we will have ready-to-go responses in this circuitry which can make the pain continue beyond the healing time of the injury.
What do you do about it?
Well, it becomes about unwinding and unlearning these pre-prepared circuits. It becomes about normalising signals from the area.
If you need help with this, let us know. We are happy to help.