7 Beliefs That Are Holding You Back From Solving Your Pain
- Mendelssohn Angelo Casanas
- 6 hours ago
- 6 min read
About the Author: Hannah Breal, PT, DPT is the co-owner of Made 2 Move Physical Therapy in Charleston and Charlotte. She helps athletes and active adults rebuild strength, mobility, and confidence so they can move pain-free for life.
Made 2 Move Physical Therapy – Charleston | Daniel Island | Mount Pleasant | Charlotte
In my almost six years as a physical therapist at Made 2 Move, I've learned the hard way that there's one thing that matters most when it comes to truly solving your pain and achieving movement freedom.
It's not your diagnosis.
It's not a certain exercise, stretch, or manual therapy technique.
It's what you believe about your body, pain, and exercise.
I know what you may be thinking right now.
Hannah, what does my mindset have to do with my pain?
it has everything to do with it.
IMO, I really don't think you can fully solve your pain and live a life of movement freedom if you never address the beliefs you have about your body. Because our beliefs can limit our progress. Dare I say, they can actually hurt us.
Our beliefs affect what we do - they change the way we move, the way we act, and the way we treat our bodies.
These beliefs usually prevent us from doing the things we actually need to do to thrive.
But there's a lot of conflicting advice out there and a lot of these beliefs have been engrained in our society - there may be things you don't even know that you believe.
So if you believe these things and you don't have a great understanding about where these beliefs came from, they might not even be your beliefs to begin with but we don't often know that until someone calls them out.
So these are the 7 most common beliefs I've seen in patients that have held them back from making progress.
If you're struggling with pain or injuries, some of these limiting beliefs might be to blame.
1. "Pain Means Damage."
Pain is a signal that you might need to change something, but it's not a damage report system: it's an alarm system. Pain does NOT equal damage. Pain is SO complex and multifactorial.
What that means is that there's usually not one single cause there's many contributing factors.
Pain is our bodies way of getting our attention to alert us that "hey, there may be something going on that we're not loving here. Can you please go take a look?"
But the cool thing about pain is that because so many things can affect it, it means that we have so many ways to reduce it.
Having "damage" doesn't mean you have to have pain. Having something "abnormal" doesn't mean you need to be "fixed" or that you'll be in pain forever.
Next time you feel pain, don't assume that something is terribly or permanently wrong.
Instead, think "this is a sign something may need to change."
2. "Impact Is Bad for Your Joints."
This one is super ironic, because the only thing that makes our joints healthier, stronger, and more resilient is you guessed it impact.
There's nothing inherently wrong about impact.
It's the dosage that matters.
The mistake I often see people make is that they avoid all impact and stress because they've been told it's "bad for them."
But then without that stress, their body has nothing to adapt to, so they get weaker and less prepared, which is the opposite of what they want.
The right amount of stress and impact is different for everyone. I'm not saying you should go do 50 box jumps right now if you never do any sort of jumping.
What I am saying placing stress on our bodies is essential to build stronger, more resilient bodies.
And the people who avoid movement are the ones who will actually "pay for it later."
3. "If You Have Pain, You Need an MRI."
Imaging doesn't tell the full story. You could have exactly the same imaging as someone else with completely different symptoms.
Most pain free people have some "finding" on imaging.
Your symptoms, function, and history matter more than a snapshot.
4. "I Should Avoid the Movements That Hurt."
Like I mentioned earlier, avoidance doesn't protect you.
It's the number one thing I see people do. And it's the number one thing that hurts them in the long run.
Modifying is helpful. Relative rest is helpful.
Completely avoiding specific movements, positions, and exercises forever makes you less prepared and more susceptible to injuries long-term.
Instead of saying "since that movement hurts, I'm going to stop doing it", ask yourself "what can I change about this to make it less painful?"
5. "Your Disc Herniation Means You'll Have Back Problems Forever."
Now this one straight up FRUSTRATES me.
We've worked with SO many people who had disc herniations, and now they're back to lifting and moving without fear. HOW COOL IS THAT.
Your body is adaptable and can heal with the right tools and environment.
This injury doesn't have to determine your whole future.
It will be a part of your story, for sure, but it doesn't have to become your identity.
The belief that you're going to be limited forever is actually what's holding you back.
6. "Bad Form Causes Injuries."
First of all, what is considered "bad"??
People have been taught that there's one specific way to move or perform an exercise.
But why would our bodies be able to move so variably if we weren't supposed to?
There's no such thing as a "bad" movement. Just movements your body is either prepared for OR unprepared for.
That doesn't mean that form doesn't matter. It means that context and preparation beat "perfect form."
You could deadlift with the most perfect form and if you do something you're not prepared for or you're overtraining, you could still get injured.
Perfect form doesn't protect you, just like straying from it doesn't automatically hurt you.
7. "I Probably Just Need to Stretch More."
My personal least favorite.
Whoever big stretching hired for their PR and marketing did an amazing job, because for some reason, everyone has been told that stretching solves all their problems.
The reason this frustrates me is because people will go to physical therapy and they're given a couple stretches and when it doesn't work, they think "well I guess PT didn't work for me, I must be doomed forever or I must need surgery," when in reality, you just weren't given the right plan.
I think we like the feeling and sensation of stretching a painful muscle or joint because that strong sensation makes us feel like we're doing something good for us.
Stretching can feel good and it CAN have benefits but by itself, for most people, it doesn't solve the actual problem.
It can be part of the solution, but I think it's overapplied as a treatment for pain and injuries.
If you've had pain or an injury and you wanna solve it, you need more than "just a couple of stretches."
The Bottom Line
These are things I hear and see every day as a physical therapist.
You won't be able to change your pain until you change your beliefs about pain.
Ready to work with a team that actually digs into what's going on? Our team at Made 2 Move Physical Therapy works one-on-one with active adults and athletes across Daniel Island, Downtown Charleston, and Charlotte. Learn how we work or hear from our patients who've been exactly where you are.
If You’re in Charleston, Daniel Island, Charlotte, or Mount Pleasant…
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Written by Hannah Breal, PT, DPT, Co-Owner of Made 2 Move Physical Therapy, helping Charleston and Charlotte move pain-free for life.
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