03/03/2022
Want to know how often we hear this?
I’d say about 4 out of 5 people that see us clinically start their chat with this line.
So what’s it mean?
Does 80% of the population have a better than average pain tolerance?
That’s not how averages work.
Does AO just see an exceptionally high proportion of fearless badasses?
Maybe? (Probably not… sorry guys)
👉 Pain is so incredibly subjective.
Even if you’ve experienced the exact same injury as the person next to you, your pain can be very VERY different.
So if pain is different for everyone, what does this line tell us?
It gives us context.
To us it translates to:
“I’m comfortable dealing with a certain level of discomfort, this is beyond that and I’ve come to you for help”
Ok amazing, let’s get to work.
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Fun fact:
There is some research around that gives us the impression that high level athletes contextualise the experience of discomfort (pain) as a part of what they do and tend to continue performing better than non-sporting people. You can potentially interpret that as pain actually impacts their performance less or that they have a ‘greater tolerance to pain’.
This is part of a new series we’re playing with called Quotes From The Clinic.
Just a platform to talk about the interesting things we see and hear around the industry and our views. Comment with your take!
…. hell even disagree if you want to.
