17/09/2026
Pain can be surprisingly complex.
Sometimes there is a clear injury or inflammation contributing to pain. At other times, the relationship between what we feel and what is happening in the tissues is less straightforward.
Pain is a sensory and emotional experience, and our experience of it can be influenced by biological, psychological and social factors. Sleep, fatigue, stress, previous experiences, emotions, physical load and the circumstances around us can all be part of that bigger picture.
None of this makes pain less real.
For me, it simply means that when someone comes to me with pain, I’m interested in more than the location that hurts.
Where does it hurt? matters.
But sometimes another useful question is:
What else is going on?
If pain is new, severe, worsening or unexplained, it’s important to seek assessment from an appropriately qualified health professional.