Pacing for Pain: How Doing Less Can Help You Do More

Pacing has the potential to be a very frustrating suggestion for people living with persistent pain, because modern life is hectic.

It can, nonetheless, be a very effective approach for some people. I want to offer a few different ways of thinking about pacing for pain in this blog, potentially making it more palatable.

What is pacing?

Pacing is not flooring the accelerator until your engine has no fuel. It is recognising when your engine is running low, refuelling before the engine gives out, and driving in a more fuel efficient way.

Credit MSK NHS Ayrshire & Arran for this graphic worth a thousand words (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1116585627145306&set=pcb.1116585677145301)

The problem with the 'all gas, no breaks' approach is evident in the above image. Rather than getting more done, in the long run, you actually get less done. This is the unfortunate reality that often drags people with persistent pain who have successfully floored the accelerator for years or decades (unsurprisingly - modern life is hectic) around to the reality that pacing, at least for a while, may allow them to get more done.

Slow and steady

The lesson in the above image is the same as the tortoise and the hare from Aesop's Fables. The story goes that the hare and tortoise have a race. The hare shoots off at lightning speed whilst the tortoise goes slow and steady. The hare looks like they will win by a mile but runs out of fuel. Sensing the great distance the hare has over the tortoise, the hare figures they have time for a nap. The tortoise strolls past and wins the race.

Modern culture rewards hare like sprints. But tortoise like plodders experience less pain, and get more done in the long run.

Working smart not hard

Below is a short clip of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best football players ever, talking about the need to adapt his game as he got older.

The players who can keep performing at the top level as they age are the ones who learn how to use their energy most effectively. They become more intelligent with their efforts and that wisdom gained from experience becomes their advantage on the pitch.

Changing the way you do a task might mean you you don't have to change the amount you do a task.

The internet is a treasure trove for such 'hacks'. Below is one such example. Perhaps this chap adapted because he had pain when lifting his arm above his head 🤔

Wu Wei

Wu Wei is an important principle in Eastern philosophy. This is a potentially helpful lens to view pacing through. Rather than butcher the explanation, I will let the great Alan Watts do the talking in the clip below.

To Conclude

Do not push your engine until your tank is empty. Pace like the tortoise, adapt like Ronaldo and go with the flow rather than swimming against the current.