Ask the Expert: Roger Allen
The pandemic has ushered in a slew of mental and physical issues for people to navigate. Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy Roger Allen, who specializes in pain management, shares tips for physical wellness鈥攑lus a healthier and happier mind鈥攊n a post-pandemic world.
Roger Allen, professor of physical therapy, studies an intricate, powerful network called the neuromatrix to better understand how pain travels through the central nervous system.
The pandemic has amplified inactivity; those 鈥淨uarantine 15鈥 pounds are a sign to get moving. Allen suggests finding exercise you truly love鈥攑referably, aerobic and low-impact鈥攕o you鈥檒l want to keep doing it. Motion is especially key for those still working from home: 鈥淪itting is hard on your back,鈥 says Allen, 鈥渁nd if we maintain maladaptive postures, we create new pain sources.鈥 His advice? Get up every 15 minutes for some spinal extensions, stretching, and shoulder rolls. (Allen incorporates 鈥減ostural breaks鈥 for his students during his three-hour anatomy class.)
When someone is stressed, explains Allen, their nervous and endocrine systems are overridden鈥攁nd these are the two systems that are supposed to keep everything regulated. When this happens, no organ system is immune from harm; elevated blood pressure will be nearly unavoidable.
Allen studied the cause of flare-ups for those who suffer from chronic neuropathic pain, like migraines and fibromyalgia, and learned that pain can peak as much as 10 days after enduring a stressful situation. (That鈥檚 how long it takes for thyroxine, a hormone released during stress, to break free from its protein bonds.) 鈥淭his lifts the veil off the cause,鈥 says Allen. 鈥淚t helps patients predict and plan for future flares.鈥
Allen has explored how the brain relies on an intricate, powerful network called the neuromatrix to relay pain through the central nervous system. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing more of the brain becoming involved with pain, which means any time we activate other areas of the brain, it can trigger the memory of the pain.鈥 That means something like chronic stress could stimulate the neuromatrix into making people think there鈥檚 a problem somewhere. But stay positive: The brain鈥檚 internal mapping system can change over time through new sensory experiences and memories.
If there鈥檚 an ache or pain, pay attention. 鈥淧ain is meant to be very unpleasant,鈥 says Allen, explaining that this sensory pathway is tremendously important for survival. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a signal to stop doing whatever it is that you鈥檙e doing to cause damage鈥攁nd learn not to do it again.鈥
