Dr. Jason Winkelmann

06/03/2026

Part 3: Muscle pain is not always because you overdid it. Sometimes it’s because you’re not moving enough.

Most people with chronic pain assume pain only comes from excessive activity.

But your body was designed for movement variability — not prolonged static tension.

Your body is managing:
• Muscle fiber recruitment
• Blood flow and oxygen delivery
• Nervous system threat detection

And prolonged postures directly impact all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:

Your muscles contain different types of muscle fibers.

For low-level endurance tasks — like sitting at a desk, driving, scrolling on the couch, or holding posture all day — your body recruits small endurance fibers first.

These fibers are called low-threshold motor units.

But here’s the problem:

They’re the first fibers recruited…
and the last fibers released.

So during prolonged static positions, these fibers stay active continuously without getting adequate recovery.

Researchers call this the “Cinderella Hypothesis.”

Over time, those constantly active fibers can become:
• Oxygen deprived
• Metabolically fatigued
• Hyper-sensitive

That matters because:

→ Reduced circulation increases muscle tension
→ Fatigued tissue becomes painful
→ The brain starts interpreting those muscles as areas of danger

At the same time, this also affects:

• Trigger point formation
• Central pain sensitization
• Protective muscle guarding patterns

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:

Static tension → muscle fatigue → pain signaling → more guarding and tension

This is why chronic pain isn’t always caused by too much movement.

Sometimes it develops because the body stopped getting enough movement variability.

And when you understand the physiology,
your symptoms start to make sense.

06/01/2026

Part 2: Most people with chronic pain are told: “Tight muscles just mean you need to stretch more.”

But that’s not how chronic pain physiology works.

Under normal circumstances, tight muscles happen because a muscle was overworked.

But in chronic pain conditions, tight, achy, and painful muscles are often tissues that cannot fully recover.

Your body is managing:
• Oxygen delivery to tissues
• Inflammation and nerve sensitivity
• Cellular energy production

And chronic muscle tension directly impacts all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:

Healthy muscles contract and relax normally.

But chronically tight muscles can become stuck in a partially contracted state, limiting blood flow to the tissue.

When that happens, the muscle starts accumulating:
• Inflammatory chemicals
• Metabolic waste
• Acidic byproducts from low oxygen states

Biopsies of chronic trigger points and fibromyalgia tender points consistently show elevated inflammatory mediators like:

• Bradykinin
• TNF-alpha
• Interleukins 1β, 6, and 8
• Substance P
• CGRP

These chemicals increase pain sensitivity and keep nerves in a hyper-reactive state.

That matters because:

→ Reduced oxygen creates tissue acidosis
→ Acidosis increases nerve hypersensitivity
→ Inflammation keeps muscles from fully recovering

At the same time, this also affects:

• Mitochondrial ATP production
• Blood vessel regulation
• Central pain amplification pathways

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:

Muscle tension → poor circulation → inflammation and acidosis → more pain and tightness

This is why chronic pain isn’t just about “tight muscles.”

It’s about tissues that no longer have the resources to properly recover.

And when you understand the physiology,
your symptoms start to make sense.

05/31/2026

Part 1: Most people with chronic pain are told: “Your muscles are tight because you’re stressed.”

But that’s not how your body works.

Tight, achy muscles are often a sign of deeper physiologic dysfunction — especially poor oxygen delivery, low ATP production, and impaired muscle relaxation.

Your body is managing:
• Muscle contraction and relaxation
• Blood flow and oxygen delivery
• Cellular energy production

And trigger points directly impact all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:

Muscles contract when calcium binds inside the muscle fibers.

But muscles only relax when magnesium helps remove that calcium.

If the muscle stays partially contracted, blood flow becomes restricted.

That means the muscle starts running low on:
• Oxygen
• Magnesium
• ATP (cellular energy)

When your body can’t restore those nutrients efficiently, trigger points form.

And those “knots” are often areas of localized oxygen deprivation.

That matters because:

→ Oxygen-deprived tissue becomes painful
→ Low ATP prevents muscles from relaxing
→ Restricted blood flow traps metabolic waste in the tissue

At the same time, this also affects:

• Nervous system sensitivity
• Mitochondrial energy production
• Pain amplification pathways

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:

Muscle contraction → reduced circulation → oxygen deprivation → more pain and tightness

This is why fibromyalgia isn’t just about muscle pain.

It’s about the systems underneath it.

And when you understand the physiology,
your symptoms start to make sense.

05/30/2026

https://youtu.be/MQh1V0xOZR4

Most people believe chronic pain means something in the body is damaged.But what if that’s not actually true?In this video, we break down the real science be...

05/28/2026

Part 7: If you have chronic pain, there’s something you need to understand:

Your pain and your emotions are no longer separate

Your symptoms aren’t random. They’re driven by underlying physiology.

This is why your pain can feel constant… no matter where it started.

Your body is managing:
• threat interpretation (how your brain labels inputs)
• neural patterning (learned pain pathways)
• brain-body signaling (emotions influencing physiology)

And chronic stress directly impacts all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:
When pain, stress, anxiety, and fear repeat over time → your brain starts interpreting all inputs as threatening.

When this becomes your baseline → it leads to:
• persistent activation of pain pathways
• difficulty distinguishing safe vs dangerous signals

That matters because:
→ your brain responds to normal inputs as threats
→ pain becomes constant, not situational
→ emotional and physical symptoms reinforce each other

At the same time, this also affects:
• central sensitization (amplified pain processing)
• autonomic regulation (survival vs recovery state)
• neuroplasticity (reinforcing pain pathways)

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:
pain → fear → threat signaling → more pain

This is why chronic pain isn’t just physical or emotional. It’s a learned pattern between your brain and body. And unless that connection is addressed directly, the cycle continues.

When you understand the physiology, your symptoms start to make sense.

05/27/2026

Part 6: Most people with chronic pain don’t realize their nervous system is stuck in “survival mode”

But that’s not how your body is supposed to function long-term.

Your symptoms aren’t random. They’re driven by underlying physiology.

This is why your pain can feel constant… and hard to calm down.

Your body is managing:
• autonomic balance (sympathetic vs parasympathetic activity)
• periaqueductal gray function (pain modulation center)
• brain-body communication (regulation vs threat signaling)

And chronic stress directly impacts all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:
When stress, anxiety, and fear are constant → your body shifts into a sustained sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state.

When this state becomes chronic → it leads to:
• reduced parasympathetic activity (less recovery and healing)
• altered signaling through the periaqueductal gray

That matters because:
→ your body prioritizes survival over healing
→ pain modulation becomes less effective
→ your system reinforces threat and pain signals

At the same time, this also affects:
• emotional processing (reinforcing fear responses)
• nervous system regulation (difficulty shifting out of stress)
• communication pathways (impacting how pain is perceived and expressed)

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:
stress → sympathetic dominance → impaired pain regulation → increased pain

This is why chronic pain isn’t just about the body or the brain alone. It’s about how your nervous system is regulating between survival and recovery. When you understand the physiology, your symptoms start to make sense.

05/25/2026

Part 5: Most people with chronic pain think pain only happens after movement

But that’s not how your brain works.

Your symptoms aren’t random. They’re driven by underlying physiology.

This is why your pain can start… before you even move.

Your body is managing:
• predictive processing (how your brain anticipates pain)
• threat detection (amygdala-driven fear response)
• pain integration (coordination across multiple brain regions)

And fear directly impacts all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:

When pain is paired with fear, anxiety, or past experiences → your brain starts building predictive models.

When those predictions repeat → it leads to:
• activation of pain pathways before movement occurs
• increased sensitivity to expected “threats”

That matters because:
→ your brain can generate pain without new injury
→ anticipation amplifies the pain experience
→ normal movements begin to feel dangerous

At the same time, this also affects:
• motor control (bracing and guarded movement)
• central processing (integration across 40+ brain regions)
• behavioral patterns (avoidance reinforcing prediction)

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:
fear → prediction → pain → avoidance → reinforced fear

This is why chronic pain isn’t just something you feel. It’s something your brain has learned to expect. When you understand the physiology, your symptoms start to make sense.

05/23/2026

https://www.mytruehealthcenters.com/post/can-stress-and-anxiety-cause-chronic-pain-how-your-nervous-system-learns-pain

Can stress and anxiety actually cause chronic pain? Learn how neuroinflammation, central sensitization, and nervous system dysregulation connect emotions to chronic pain through real physiology.

05/22/2026

Part 4: Most people with chronic pain are never told that emotions can physically rewire the brain.

Your symptoms aren’t random. They’re driven by underlying physiology.

This is why your pain can feel constant, overwhelming, and hard to control.

Your body is managing:
• amygdala activity (threat detection + emotional response)
• prefrontal cortex function (pain suppression + regulation)
• neuroplasticity (how brain connections are formed and maintained)

And chronic stress directly impacts all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:
When stress, anxiety, and fear are constant → they increase activity in the amygdala and decrease function in the prefrontal cortex.

When neuroinflammation is present → it leads to:
• disruption of neural connections across pain-processing networks
• reduced ability for the brain to regulate and suppress pain

That matters because:
→ your brain becomes more focused on detecting threat
→ pain signals are less effectively controlled
→ multiple pain-processing regions lose coordination

At the same time, this also affects:
• neuroinflammatory signaling (disrupting brain communication)
• central pain processing (integration across 40+ brain regions)
• emotional regulation (feedback into pain pathways)

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:
stress → neuroinflammation → disrupted brain networks → increased pain

This is why chronic pain isn’t just about the body. It’s about how your brain has been reorganized under prolonged stress. When you understand the physiology, your symptoms start to make sense.

05/20/2026

Part 3: There’s something most people with chronic pain have never been told: Your immune system can be activated by stress alone

Your symptoms aren’t random. They’re driven by underlying physiology.

This is why your pain can feel widespread, persistent, and hard to calm down.

Your body is managing:
• microglial activity (immune cells inside your nervous system)
• cytokine signaling (inflammatory communication)
• neuronal excitability (how easily pain signals fire)

And chronic stress directly impacts all of them.

Here’s what’s happening:
When stress, anxiety, and fear become chronic → they activate your immune system as if there’s a real threat.

When microglia are activated → it leads to:
• release of cytokines like IL-1β and TNF-α
• binding of these signals to neurons, increasing excitability

That matters because:
→ your nervous system becomes easier to trigger
→ pain signals fire more frequently
→ inflammation builds without a physical injury

At the same time, this also affects:
• NMDA receptor activity (pain signal amplification)
• central nervous system sensitivity (signal processing)
• brain-immune communication (threat response)

So your body gets stuck in a cycle of:
stress → immune activation → neuroinflammation → increased pain sensitivity

This is why chronic pain isn’t just physical or emotional. It’s a bidirectional loop between your nervous system and immune system. When you understand the physiology, your symptoms start to make sense.