The body can be understood as a machine which requires care and maintenance to function at its best.
Bio=body, mechanical=machine. When most people think of pain, they are thinking about this aspect of pain. This is the physical quality of pain, the experience of, “there is something wrong or broken or not working right in my body”. Pain is the “warning light” indicating that the machine of the body is malfunctioning and requires attention. The vast majority of treatment and care for pain is directed toward fixing or restoring what is perceived to be broken or damaged. Whether this means physical therapy, massage, chiropractic or other “bodywork”, injections or surgery, both caregiver and care receiver are focused on the body not much differently than an auto mechanic focuses on your car – restore alignment, tighten what is too loose, stabilize what is too weak, lubricate what is stuck, repair broken parts and as a last resort, replace what cannot be fixed.
The good news is that in most cases evaluating and treating pain in this way is very effective. Most painful conditions do get better with care directed toward the biomechanical stressors. But when pain doesn’t resolve, it is most certainly complicated pain and requires evaluation and care to the other “tumblers” of the combination lock.
