Pain doesn’t always show up where the problem is.
You might feel it in your hip but the issue is in your spine.
In your shoulder but the root is your neck.
In your jaw but it’s your heart.
This is the nature of referred pain, and it can make diagnosis, treatment, and healing a long and frustrating road if we don’t know what to look for.
🧠 The Science of Referred Pain
Referred pain happens because the brain gets confused. Nerves from different areas of the body carrying sensory information converge in the spinal cord, and when a signal gets sent to the brain, it isn’t always clear where it came from.
So you feel pain in one place, but the true source may be somewhere else entirely.
This is common in musculoskeletal pain, but also for our visceral structures. Most of us have heard that someone having a heart attack, for example, may complain of pain in their left arm. The issue isn't in the left arm, but the brain is sounding the alarm on a much wider scale, telling us that something serious needs attention. Just as the heart has a referral pattern, so do all our visercal and musculoskeletal structures.
🧍♀️ Real-Life Example: Listening Beneath the Surface
One of my patients had a hip labrum repair years ago for ongoing groin and hip pain. But the pain never really left. She spent a decade thinking the surgery didn’t work, that maybe she just had to live with it.
When I evaluated her, we discovered that the source of her pain was actually her upper lumbar spine. The hip had taken the blame, but it was innocent all along. Her pain was in the exact area we would anticipate the upper lumbar spine to refer pain to, but no one had investigated it sufficiently.
After treating the real source, she’s now running again for the first time in years.
🧘 Why Mindfulness Helps
Mindfulness teaches us to pay attention to pain, not push it away. When we resist it or label it as “bad” or “broken,” we lose our ability to listen.
But when we pause, just long enough to observe, we start to notice:
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Patterns in pain
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The way it behaves with movement
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What makes it better or worse
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When it whispers and when it shouts
This awareness gives us better language to share with providers.
And when we can describe our symptoms clearly, we give our medical team a better chance of finding the true cause, not just chasing the noise.
💡 Try This
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The next time pain shows up, instead of asking “How do I get rid of it?” try asking:
“What is this trying to show me?”
It might not give you a clear answer right away. But over time, it builds trust. And that trust creates a roadmap, not just for relief, but for understanding.
Pain is not always where the problem is.
But it’s always trying to tell you something.
With curiosity,
Are you feeling ready to explore your pain in a different way? You don’t have to figure it out alone. Schedule a call, and we’ll sort out whether this approach feels right for you.
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