Everyone’s nervous system is unique towards pain and performance.

Everyone’s nervous system is unique, a small portion of it is contributed by genetics but the vast majority of the way you think, move and feel are based on the environment that you are situated in and the information that your brain receives from your environment.

Your nervous system receives information from your environment via your senses (eyes, ears, touch, smell, taste etc.), it then interprets that information and makes a decision on what to do with that information as an output. Based on prior experiences, culture, beliefs etc. of the inputs, your brain will either determine that incoming information is “safe” so that you can continue doing what you are doing or “unsafe” and will deliver a nociception ie. pain output in order for you to make a change. 

Imagine you are walking down a path and you see a dog a few yards ahead. If you have a history of having several encounters with dog(s) that were full of fun, calm and happy experiences being with dog(s), then you know that your behaviour with this dog that you are about to encounter with is going to be not anything different. However, if you unfortunately had a horrible, scary experience with a dog, then your behaviour might be different when you come across this canine. Your walk might change to a more stutter step, or you might feel tense more in your shoulders, neck, hands and/or feet. Your breathing rate might shorten, You might have muscles spasms or pain. You might also find that the emotions that you are feeling inside might be too overwhelming, too unbearable in fact that it will lead yourself to look for a different path to walk on, just so you don’t have to cross paths with this dog.

This is an unfortunate scenario, but it happens to several people who have had traumatic or harmful experiences in their past. Your brain remembers all of the moments that it felt unsafe in your past and if each input signal that your brain receives, consciously and/or subconsciously is reminded of an unsafe event, then it will generate a unique output to the body in order to change what you are doing.

Your brain creates these outputs as described in this example, it also can generate other types of outputs such as a startle response, varying your endocrine & immune levels, change of movement patterns, make you feel lethargic etc. All of these are outputs that your brain generates will take place in order for you to make a change.  It feels “unsafe” for what the body is doing or about to do and it generates these types of outputs as a way to communicate to you to say “we have to stop/ make a change of what we are doing.”

Knowing this, you might be asking, “if my brain is creating these types of outputs habitually, how would I change this so that I can walk calmly and confidently down a street or at any activity that I want to perform well in?”

I would say, “great question! The answer to that, is to modulate the inputs that your brain is receiving.”

After a thorough neuro assessment where I am able to assess how your nervous system functions as a whole, I will be able to gather information of what your brain needs in order receive accurate input activation, in a safe manner. These are the type of inputs that your nervous system consciously and/or subconsciously finds threatening. These types of inputs are unique to you, so that your nervous system can feel less threatened, feel more calm & confident in your own body and will have you be able to perform better at whatever activity that you are driven to do well in.

Some examples of inputs that I will be addressing and to provide training to your nervous system are: sensory activation, vision, hearing, smelling, balance and movement activation, breathing exercises to help improve brain fuel utilization.

As you can see, these types of information are what your nervous system receives as inputs constantly, in order to have you feel and move safely in your own environment. There will be one or many different input signals causing a dysfunction or not receiving accurate information, which then challenges your brain to function optimally in your own environment.

If the brain is confused with these different inputs signals, then it has a small tolerance window, so small in fact, that any additional stimulus/input that your brain receives will cause a “breaking point” or the “straw that broke the camel’s back” to your nervous system, metaphorically speaking.

The great news is that any of these inputs are trainable and your brain has the ability to rewire/retrain to have accurate information again. Regaining and reintroducing accurate signals to your nervous system will allow your brain to have an increase tolerance to handle more things in your day, plus being able to move and perform well, without the fear of being hurt. You are training yourself to become more safe and to be more in-tune to your body and the environment that you move in.

Allow me and my professional expertise to help you grow, prosper, and to show you how your goals can be achieved, all by training your unique nervous system.

Let me know if you have any questions, or how we can work together to help guide you from being in “pain/fear/restriction” mode and to lead you towards and to sustain in “performance/excellence” mode.

Thank you for reading. Please like, share and/or comment, if this post resonated with you.

Mack Rutherford