The Somatic Solution: A Path to Lasting Back Pain Relief

Most people with back pain arrive at somatics as a last resort when all other back pain treatments they've tried have failed, this was my case aswell.
I was intrigued because somatics advocated slow, gentle movements and talked about the nervous system and brain creating new options and capabilities. Sure, I was a little bit skeptical. But after my first 50 minute lesson i felt changes in how I was lying, how I was standing and even remarked in the mirror that my posture had improved dramatically.
I was so impressed that I wanted to know why all those benefits come from mindful movement. After all, no matter how much posture training, strength training or stretching anyone does, you can't have such a huge impact after one lesson!

After reading through hundreds of research papers I discovered that these exercises are pure neuroplasticity in motion and work directly on our nervous system.

It's no secret that mindfulness and meditation can ehnance creativity ¹, embodied learning with self awareness can regulate stress² and help treat many forms of pain. How does somatics help in back pain?

This is PART 4 of the series Unraveling the Mystery of Back Pain A 4-Part Deep Dive:

• Part 1 - The Truth About Back Pain: Who's Really Suffering? - Statistics
• Part 2 - Understanding Nonspecific Back Pain: What You Need to Know
• Part 3 - Unraveling the Ineffectiveness of Traditional Back Pain Therapies and Treatments: A Scientific Perspective
• Part 4 - The Somatic Solution: A Path to Lasting Back Pain Relief

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The SOMA from Somatic

What is Somatics and why should you care if you're in any kind of pain including back pain?

We all have and are a SOMA. The SOMA can be described as the embodied self, the insepparable unity between the body and the mind.
If the body and mind are one. Enhancing body awareness has been described as a key element and mechanism of action for achieving lasting therapeutic effects.
Awareness is simply the aspect of our self in interraction between the physical, mental, emotional, breath, personality etc. In this way moving, sensing, feeling and thinking are interconnected. You don't have to think.. you just have to do and explore.

Body and Mind not separated, this is NOT a spiritual practice, we're just using slow aware and conscious movement which we sense, and feel to reprogram (or teach) our nervous system new options. Because we move extremely slowly, don't do things which cause pain, don't force and are attentive, our nervous system senses our gentleness to ourselves and lets go of tension and our brain unlocks new possibilities.

How? Our somatosensorycortex constantly listens for input and integrates changes in our nervous system when we are aware of what we do instead of doing things we've always done.

After all, everything we do is controlled by our nervous system and brain. This is another reason why stretching fails to work.

Scientific studies

A variety of medical conditions can be solved by using somatic movement exercises, including chronic low back pain[18–22], pelvic pain[23, 24], fibromyalgia[25–27], musculoskeletal pain[28, 29], chronic pain in general[29, 30], disordered eating and obesity[3, 31, 32], irritable bowel syndrome[33], sexual abuse trauma[4, 34], coronary artery disease[35, 36], congestive heart failure[37], chronic renal failure[38], falls in the elderly[39], anxiety[40–42] and depression[43]. ³ These are not my claims although I've felt many of these benefits myself. They're all cross referenced to other studies from the original study, if you want to go down a rabbit hole of exploration and amazement you're invited to read the following study and inquiry ³. Check the references and research for yourself.

Another amazing scientific study found the following results for Clinical Somatics: Patients who had neck pain and low back pain for longer than 2 months resolved after just 2 to 5 sessions. Each session lasted for 40 to 60 minutes each and they did one session every 1-2 weeks. ⁴
What's more incredible is the fact that at the 6 months follow-up, the pain medication usage decreased from 53% to 14% and the mean number of doctor visits also reduced from 2 to 0.5.

Another great study showing significant decreases in complaints from neck and shoulders and disability during leisure time in the somatics movement group consisting of female industrial workers. These femails are probably active most of the time. IMPORTANT to note about what we talked earlier: Physiotherapy showed no change in pain levels, control groups (who had no intervention) had worsening of symptoms. ⁵

So if you don't do anything you'll get worse, remember the U shaped curve. If you do the wrong type of treatment you may have a 40% chance of still having pain so the study is consistent when cross referenced with other scientific data.

I could point to [many other studies showcasing somatics]({{ ref "scientific-research/" }}) which you can read on the linsublim website, but the point is that somatics has a powerful impact on the whole nervous system and is an effective treatment in low back pain.

To understand HOW and WHY LinSublim Somatic Educaton works we simply need to understand some things about our wonderful brain. The Somatosensory cortex works best by observing sensory information with awareness and it's thightly connected to the motor cortex which is right next to it. This is why it's often called the somatosensorycortex. The name SOMA in Somatics is essential to how those brain parts function. Somatics uses awareness and conscious slow movement to foster neuroplasciticy. Your brain and nervous sytem then will take care of the rest, reorganizing your posture, releasing muscle tension,unlocking new options in movement and releasing endorphins which will calm pain.

Here's another interesting study:

Attention and focused awareness can reduce pain via distractions depend on insula–parietal–somatosensory corticocortical pathways. (Moving, including imagining movement)
Both emotional and attentional modulation of pain can be harnessed by non-pharmacological interventions such as meditation and mind body interventions. Indeed, even expectation of relief activates descending endogenous opioidergic circuitry.
There is also evidence that disruption of endogenous pain modulatory systems by chronic pain alters cognitive and emotional processing in patients with pain, leading to impairments in performance on decision-making and learning tasks.
However, successful treatment of chronic pain can reverse the pain-related reductions in grey matter. There are tantalizing hints that psychology-based treatments such as meditation may also act in a neuroprotective manner to prevent or reverse these pain-related changes in brain structure and function. ⁶
Mind–body techniques for controlling pain and relaxation procedures can reduce both chronic and acute pain via attentional focus

So not only will you get rid of back pain by practicing LinSublim Somatics but you'll get stress reduction and a plethora of health benefits. Especially for people with chronic back pain.

I was also plagued by pain, anxiety, depression and a vicious cycle of chronic pain, once I began doing somatic movement exercises my life improved in all aspects. I wanted to understand why, and the more I [researched]({{ ref "scientific-research/" }}), the more I discovered even MORE benefits which I wanted to explain and understand with scientific proof which I have now plenty of.

You can read a separate article Why aren't somatic exercises more mainstream for treating pain and stress?

Your Journey to Pain Relief

This is why I founded LinSublim, because I believe that everyone deserves to live a pain and stress free life. By incorporating somatic movement into your daily routine, you can experience the transformative power of this gentle yet profound practice.

Ready to embark on your journey to back pain relief? Join our community and discover the life-changing benefits of LinSublim Somatic Education.

Preorder the Low Back Pain Relief Course which is available on preorders at 50% off of the full price before it officially launches!.

Not ready to buy the course? Create an account for free and experience the transformative power of Somatic Exercises!

Remember, your body has the innate ability to heal itself. With the right tools and guidance, you can unlock your body's potential and live a pain-free life.

Disclaimer: While somatic movement can be a powerful tool for pain relief, it is important to consult with a healthcare professional for any serious health concerns.

References and Footnotes