Life is a participation sport. It should be the goal of every person to become the elite athlete of their own life.
If we look at life in this context we will see that the lives of the athlete and the chronic pain sufferer are intertwined. If we think in these terms, we must also be able to distinguish the differences between elite performance, the “Hollywood” aesthetic of fitness and true health.
The elite athlete strives for optimization of speed, power, quickness and endurance. They make great efforts to achieve the elusive skill of being able to “slow the game down”. They look for ways to improve mental acuity and the speed of processing information. They struggle with the chronicity of injury, the impediments to recovery and what awaits them in their lives after sports.
With the current media focus on the health of athletes with regard to concussions and chronic soft tissue injuries, we start to see direct links to the chronic pain sufferer.
If there is truth to this we will find that focal research in the field of sports performance will hold clues to the mystery of chronic pain and research focal to the study of chronic pain will hold clues to unlocking the ultimate goal of sports performance allowing us all to be come the elite athletes of our own lives.