RMT Jennifer

Why Things Hurt: Pain Is More Complex (and More Human) Than You Might Think
People usually come to see me for one reason:
Something hurts.
Early in my career, I figured that if I was going to spend my days helping people navigate pain, I should probably develop a strong understanding of it.
That decision sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole.
Because pain is surprisingly complex.
When I first entered practice, I thought my clinical focus would revolve primarily around sports injuries, orthopaedics, and mechanical problems of muscles and joints. And certainly, those things matter.
But working with people living with persistent pain, migraines, TMJ disorders, nerve symptoms, chronic illness, movement intolerance, and “nothing seems to be helping anymore” situations gradually changed how I understood pain, and healthcare more broadly.
The neuroscience of pain is fascinating.
The lived experience of pain is deeply human.
And the more we study pain, the clearer it becomes that pain is not always simple, predictable, or explained entirely by tissue injury alone.
So… what is pain?
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) currently defines pain (July 2020) as:
“An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.”
That definition is worth slowing down for a moment.
Because pain is not simply a direct measurement of tissue damage.
Pain is a personal experience.
Real.
Protective.
And influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors.
This is where pain science sometimes gets misunderstood.
You may have heard phrases like:
"Pain is all in the brain."
Unfortunately, that wording can sound dismissive or invalidating.
That is not what modern pain science is saying.
Pain is real.
Your experience matters.
But our nervous systems do far more than simply measure damaged tissues and report back.
They constantly gather information about our bodies and environment.
Injury matters.
Inflammation matters.
Health conditions matter.
But so can sleep disruption, illness, stress, overload, previous experiences, nervous system sensitivity, beliefs, context, hormones, and many other wonderfully human variables.
Sometimes pain closely reflects tissue injury.
Sometimes pain persists long after tissue healing.
Sometimes relatively minor injuries hurt tremendously.
Sometimes major injuries produce surprisingly little pain.
Human beings are complex organisms.
Our pain experiences reflect that complexity.
Why this matters for treatment
Understanding pain is not about convincing people their symptoms are imaginary.
Quite the opposite.
Understanding pain can sometimes reduce fear, increase self-understanding, and open additional pathways for support and recovery.
Persistent pain often benefits from an interdisciplinary and multimodal approach.
Family physicians, specialists, rehabilitation providers, mental health professionals, movement-based therapies, medications, education, lifestyle strategies, and supportive care may all play important roles depending on the individual and their situation.
Massage therapy can be one supportive piece of that picture.
Not because I believe I can “fix” every injury or condition.
I can't.
But I can support people living with pain.
I can help reduce or manage symptoms using evidence-informed, non-pharmacological strategies.
I can help explore movement tolerance, symptom patterns, triggers, pacing, graded progression, and sustainable ways of supporting function and quality of life.
And perhaps most importantly:
I can help people feel understood in experiences that are often frustrating, exhausting, confusing, and isolating.
Pain is complex.
Human beings are complex.
Healthcare is complex.
But complexity does not mean hopelessness.
It means we approach pain with curiosity, compassion, and a willingness to work collaboratively toward meaningful goals.

Why Things Hurt: Pain Is More Complex (and More Human) Than You Might Think — RMT Jennifer People usually come to see me for one reason: Something hurts. Early in my career, I figured that if I was going to spend my days helping people navigate pain, I should probably develop a strong understanding of it. That decision sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole. Because pain is surprising

Unicorns Aren't Real and neither are Trigger Points.

Unicorns Aren’t Real—And Neither Are Trigger Points — RMT Jennifer I’ll take “Unpopular Opinions” for $1000, please. Let’s start with a simple question: what does real actually mean? Having objective, independent existence Occurring in reality Detectable and reliably identifiable Now compare that to the traditional definition of a “trigger point”: a

Many women, especially mothers become very good at functioning through symptoms they would never ignore in someone else.

The headaches become “normal.”
The jaw tension becomes “stress.”
The numbness in the hands at night becomes “sleeping weird.”
The shoulder pain becomes “getting older.”

And because they’re still managing work, caregiving, schedules, meals, school forms, emotional labour, and everyone else’s needs… they often don’t realize how much strain their nervous system and body have been carrying for a very long time.

And often by the time they finally book in, they’ve been compensating for months or years.

One of the things I enjoy most about this work is helping people understand why symptoms may be happening, not just chasing “tight muscles.”

Sometimes the body needs less forcing and more understanding.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women carrying more than most people realize 💙

WorkSafeBC RMT Participation Survey: Educational Analysis For RMTs — RMT Jennifer Reflections on the WorkSafeBC RMT Participation Survey WorkSafeBC has launched a survey for RMTs regarding participation in direct billing for work-related injury treatment and the upcoming Massage Therapy Services Agreement renewal. The survey asks important questions about: administrative wor

I’ve started breaking down real working arrangements RMTs are navigating in BC, one piece at a time. A Contract Analysis Series for BC RMTs.

Part 1 looks at something simple but important: who actually controls the schedule.
Full post here 👇
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Working Arrangements in BC Massage Therapy
Contract Analysis Series
Part 1: Who Controls the Schedule?

Most Registered Massage Therapists in BC are classified as independent contractors.

But many don’t actually control their own schedules.
In a lot of clinics:
• Hours of operation are set by the clinic
• Schedules are predetermined
• Time off requires approval or advance notice

That’s not a small detail.

In most industries, when a worker doesn’t control when they work, they’re usually considered an employee, not an independent contractor.

That distinction matters, because it affects access to protections, and who is responsible for working conditions and safety.

Part 2: Who controls pricing and payment?