The muscle pain of conflict, submissiveness and grief

Abstract

Physiotherapists use electromyographic (EMG) techniques to look at muscle strength, and can also examine muscle behaviour. This paper examines the manner in which pain appears to result from the sustained muscle contraction that expresses unresolved emotion that may, indeed, be reactive to pain, thus forming a pain-perpetuating factor. This theory of pain perpetuation by the muscle activity of emotion is presented, and is illustrated by case examples. A discussion follows in which the literature pertaining to the muscle activity of emotion, and pain philosophy relevant to this situation, are introduced.