Why do I hurt when the weather changes?

Do you ever get a headache when it rains? Achy back or neck when clouds move in, joint pain with a cold front? Would you like to know why it happens? or if we could help it or even stop it from returning? Would you want help? This is a common question we hear in our chiropractic office.

Your body is designed to heal itself, if that is true - then why do these re-occurring weather related pains make you suffer? The truth is your body is internally programed to heal, and it will ALWAYS heal the best that it can based upon your functional operating basis. So, if you are fuctioning in a mannor which promotes healing, then you will heal correctly; but, if you are functioning in a mannor which interfers with healing - then you will heal incorrectly. Make no mistake YOU WILL hEAL! Either correctly, or incorrectly.

Let me give you an example.  Let's say you broke your arm. You go to the Emergency Room, they line it up, place an unmovable cast on your arm, and in 6 weeks remove the cast, and you have correctly healed!  Scenario number 2 - you break your arm, but don't get it lied up, you do not get an unmovable cast and 10-12 weeks later - your arm has healed, wrong!  So, why did it heal correctly in the first incidence, but incorrectly in scenario number 2...  The answer is the Functional Operating basis.

The first Functional Operating basis is correct alignment with no motion - in other words - you are duplicating the normal function of a bone by having it lined up and immobile. Therefore normal healing.  In the second scenario - the Functional Operating basis is a misaligned arm with abnormal movement. So it heals, misaligned and abnormal, or WRONG.

Now, strains of muscles and sprains of ligaments supporting joints are functionally different from bones in that while bones are not designed to move at the middle, joints and muscles are functionally designed to move...but if you injure a muscle or joint it will inadvertently be stretched beyond it's elastic limits, and frequently will be misaligned. With this type injury, your body attempts to begin the healing process by spasm and this prevents motion. 

So now your muscle and joint is misaligned and moving incorrectly. In other words the Functional Operating basis is NOT normal.  Scenario one is you take an ani-inflamatory and the pain improves, the joint and muscle is still a little stiff, but after 6-8 weeks you get on with your daily routine - Your body has healed, WRONG. The sensitivity, lack of motion and re-occurring inflamation is locked in an ongoing cycle which makes the muscle and joint work harder, use too much energy and keeps staying irritated.

Eventually, to conserve energy - which is an Normal Functional Opreating basis of your body - your body facilitates the nerve signal which keeps the muscle tight and the joint from moving correctly.  Your body will heal the way that it is.  Always! So if it is functioning normal - your body will heal normal; but, if it is functioning abnormal, then it will heal abnormal.  Healing follows function. So in this scenario with poor Funtional Operating basis, your body heals poorly.

It is this facilitation response that makes your body hurt worse during weather changes. The "cookie" your body deposits that causes the super-sensitivity is well reasearched, and is a leading cause of chronic pain like in fibromyalgia.

So if this "Wrong" healing has occurred from an interference in the correct natural healing process, then what can be done to insure it heals correctly?  Another question would be: "is my body able to heal correctly?"  These are questions that require an answer.  The truth is: Your body will ALWAYS heal, but it can only heal based on how it is functioning. So a better question would be: "What is required to have my body function better, so it can heal correctly?"

I'll answer that with another series of questions > What controls function? What is damaged?  How do you improve the Functional Operating basis?

Now we are getting to the root of the problem!