We’ve been trained to chase pain.
Back hurts? Must be a disc.
Knee aches? Probably arthritis.
Neck stiff? Gotta be the muscles.
Shoulder hurts? Must be a rotator cuff tear.
We zoom in on the noisy spot, like a smoke alarm blaring in the night. But here’s the twist: the smoke alarm isn’t the fire. And in your body, pain isn’t always the problem. Most of the time, we are completely missing the real problem.
Your Body Is More Like Plumbing Than Machinery
Forget the “body as a car” model where parts just wear out. We have to get away from the “must be getting old” mantra to the problem. It’s false and keeps you going backwards. You’re more like a house full of plumbing. Blood, lymph, and interstitial fluids are the pipes and drains. They deliver the good stuff and carry away the bad.
- Blood is the delivery truck, bringing oxygen and nutrients.
- Lymph is the garbage service, hauling out waste and toxins.
- Interstitial fluid is the neighborhood street where all the traffic moves.
When everything flows, life feels good. When it clogs, you get a backup—like a toilet that won’t flush or a gutter full of wet leaves. That’s where pain and inflammation shows up.
Chronic Pain = A Traffic Jam
Think of your tissues like a busy freeway. Oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells are cars trying to get where they need to go. Waste products and toxins are cars trying to exit.
If traffic flows, no problem. But if there’s a wreck, construction, or bottleneck, cars pile up. Nobody moves. Honking starts. Frustration builds.
That’s chronic pain: a biological traffic jam.
And here’s the kicker—your MRI might show a little “construction zone” (like a disc bulge), but if traffic keeps flowing around it, you won’t even notice. This why so many people with no symptoms can have findings on MRI. Pain is rarely about the structure. It’s about whether flow is getting through.
What Blocks the Flow?
- Lack of movement throughout the day = turning off the muscle pumps that push fluids.
- Chronic Stress Breathing = locking up the diaphragm, which is the plunger for your lymph.
- Unidentified Movement Issues = kinks in the hose causing others areas to take on more pressure and “work”, squeezing off circulation.
- Inflammation = nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress, toxic environment, relationships, etc. Fluid gets thick and sticky, like syrup in your gas tank.
You don’t have a broken body—you’ve got clogged plumbing.
The Fix: Get the River Moving Again
The answer isn’t always to poke and prod the sore and painful spot. It’s to restore movement in the whole system. Some starting tips:
- Walking = turning on the sump pump. Every step squeezes fluid back toward the heart.
- Deep nasal breathing = plunging the pipes, pushing lymph and oxygen where it needs to go.
- Correcting the root of the movement issue = (Hint: it’s usually away from the area you have pain). Taking the breaks off of what is truly limiting you with movement so the problem area can stop annoying you. You can move more freely and safely.
- Hydration = thinning out the sludge so the pumps don’t have to work so hard.
This isn’t “exercise for fitness.” This is how you keep the plumbing clear and the river moving.
Stop Chasing Pain, Start Chasing Flow
Pain is the red warning light on the dashboard. It’s the clogged sink that won’t drain. The traffic jam at rush hour.
It’s not the enemy—it’s a message.
And the message is simple: things aren’t moving.
When you restore flow in ways outlined, pain often fades on its own. Energy comes back. Healing kicks in. You feel lighter, clearer, more alive.
So next time pain shows up, don’t just zoom in on the sore spot. Step back, look at the whole system, and ask: Where has the flow stopped?
Because health isn’t just strength or flexibility.
Health is flow.
Ready for Real Long Term Solutions?
If you’ve been stuck chasing the pain and not getting the outcome you were looking for, it’s time to change the story. Your body isn’t broken—it just needs its rivers moving again. That’s where we come in.
At Auxoma, we guide you to get unstuck—so your body can heal, your energy can return, and your pain can finally quiet down and you can back to the things you love with no problems.
