Pain Unraveled - When the Body’s Alarm System Gets Too Loud

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Pain Unraveled – When the Body’s Alarm System Gets Too Loud

Understanding Pain as Protection, Not Punishment

Pain isn’t a simple signal from the body—it’s a full-body, whole-brain experience.

When we stub a toe or strain a back, it feels as though pain comes directly from that part of the body. But as neuroscientists David Butler and Lorimer Moseley describe in Explain Pain,

“Pain is always a brain output.”

Pain is often misunderstood as a straightforward body signal—an alarm that means something is broken. But pain is more like a story the body and brain write together. It’s an intelligent warning system that sometimes becomes too protective, turning up the volume long after the fire has gone out.

The body sends information; the brain interprets it, gives it meaning, and then creates the experience we call pain.

This doesn’t make pain imagined—it makes it intelligent. The brain is trying to protect us, sometimes too well.

When it’s unsure, it turns the volume up. Pain becomes the body’s way of saying, “Something might be wrong—please pay attention.”

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Sensation Sensors, Not Pain Receptors

We don’t actually have “pain receptors.”

We have nociceptors—tiny nerve endings that detect change: heat, pressure, or chemical irritation.

They’re more like smoke detectors: they alert, but they don’t decide whether to call the fire department. That decision belongs to the brain.

When the brain perceives high threat, it increases sensitivity—sending out more sensors, amplifying every signal.

“The more the brain perceives threat, the more pain you feel.” — Butler & Moseley

This explains why pain can remain after tissues have healed or spread to new areas.

The system has learned to protect with too much enthusiasm.

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Context Changes the Experience

Pain depends not only on what happens in the body but also on what happens around it.

Experiments show pain feels sharper when paired with the colour red and duller with green.

Red means danger; green means safety. Context changes interpretation.

Lorimer Moseley tells a now-famous story that captures this truth.

While hiking through tall grass in Australia, he felt a scratch on his left leg. His brain labeled it “just a twig”—a harmless memory from countless bushwalks. He felt mild discomfort. Moments later, he collapsed from a venomous brown snake bite.

Months later, on another walk, Moseley felt the same kind of scratch on the same leg.

This time, his brain reacted as if his life were in danger. He dropped to the ground in agony—only to discover it really was just a twig.

Same leg. Same sensation. Completely different pain.

His nervous system had updated the danger file. The pain wasn’t false—it was protection. The brain had learned, “scratch on left leg = threat.”

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ylbrkstYtU 

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Pain as Intelligent Communication

Pain is not a malfunction; it’s a conversation.

It’s the nervous system’s way of asking for attention when it feels uncertain or unsafe.

Understanding this begins to shift the fear around pain—it transforms reaction into curiosity.

“Pain isn’t punishment. It’s protection that can be overprotective.”

If pain is protection, then recovery begins with understanding what the brain is protecting us from. In the next piece, we’ll explore how emotion, memory, and meaning shape this alarm—how feelings can become sensations, and how we can begin to turn the volume down.

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Next in the Series

In the next post, we’ll explore how emotion, memory, and belief can turn up—or turn down—the volume of pain.

You’ll learn why emotional stress, old habits, and even unspoken fears can amplify pain signals—and how awareness can begin to rewire that pattern.

👉 Read Part 2: When Emotion Becomes Sensation – The Brain’s Over-Protection Loop

The information shared here is for educational and self-awareness purposes only. It is not intended to replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified health professional. Pain is complex, and each person’s situation is unique. I encourage you to explore these ideas in partnership with your healthcare providers—medical, manual, and therapeutic. In my experience, self-reflection and movement practices work best when supported by skilled professionals such as osteopaths, massage therapists, chiropractors, and other bodywork practitioners. Together, they create a complete and compassionate approach to healing.