07/08/2026
Have you ever been told that your pain is "just wear and tear" when deep down you know something else is going on?
A recent client came to my clinic with persistent pain in her right hip. After around 25 minutes of walking or hiking, her right foot would begin to turn inwards, causing increasing discomfort and making it difficult to continue.
During my assessment, I found weakness in several key muscles involved in walking and pelvic stability, including the right gluteal muscles, tensor fasciae latae (TFL), psoas, quadratus lumborum (QL) and the outer quadriceps. There was also dysfunction involving the sciatic nerve, which works closely with these muscles.
Interestingly, there had been no fall, accident or physical injury to explain why these changes had developed.
As I always say, symptoms are often only part of the story.
Further testing revealed dysfunction involving Cranial Nerves IV and VIII, which play important roles in eye movement, head position and balance. Rather than treating these findings in isolation, I continued looking for what was driving the changes.
Every client completes a detailed health questionnaire before attending, and I spend considerable time analysing their history before treatment. My goal has never been simply to reduce pain—it's to understand why the body has adapted in the first place.
In this case, the significant life event was a divorce that had taken place around 18 months earlier. While divorce is emotionally challenging for anyone, in this client's case the emotional stress surrounding the relationship, the separation and its aftermath appeared to have kept her nervous system in a prolonged state of protection.
When the brain perceives ongoing threat—whether physical or emotional—it can alter muscle activation, balance, posture, movement patterns and even nerve function.
The hip wasn't actually the primary problem; it had become the place where the nervous system was expressing its protective strategy.
Using my unique assessment and treatment approach, we helped the brain recognise that the event belonged in the past and that it no longer needed to remain in a constant state of hypervigilance. Once those protective patterns were reduced, the muscles and nervous system were able to function more efficiently.
The results were immediate.
Before leaving the clinic, my client reported a significant reduction in hip pain together with greater freedom of movement than she had experienced for years. Three days later she contacted me to say she was continuing to improve and that walking and exercising already felt noticeably easier.
This is an important reminder that emotional stress, grief, trauma, anxiety and psychological overwhelm don't simply affect how we feel emotionally—they can also influence how the brain controls movement, muscles, balance and pain.
Sometimes the body isn't broken.
Sometimes it's protecting you.
If you or someone you know would like to book an appointment or discuss their situation, please use the below link:
https://www.paulroosetherapy.co.uk/contact/
