Why am I always in pain? Unlocking the causes of chronic pain

I often used to ask myself, "why am I in pain?" I couldn't figure out why I had chronic pain. In this video, I discuss the perspective and strategies that helped me get chronic pain relief.

CHAPTERS
0:00 - Introduction to Why am I always in pain?
1:45 - Seeing doctors for chronic pain
2:17 - Age and pain
3:46 - What if doctors are wrong about pain?
4:57 - Results of taking personal responsibility for my pain recovery
5:25 - Process driven chronic pain
5:52 - Bad diet analogy (eating nickels)
7:51 - Muscles and "nutrition"
10:59 - Recap on the causes and fixes for chronic pain

HELPFUL LINKS

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At Upright Health we give you strategies and research to get your life back.

With principled functional training, we believe everyone can beat chronic pain and get strong, mobile, and resilient.

Our home training programs help you troubleshoot and train your body safely. We help you tear down fear and build up muscle. We help you think right, move right, and feel right.

Matt Hsu's own battle with chronic pain from the age of 16 in his feet, knees, hips, back, shoulders, elbows, forearms, wrists, hands, and head gives him a uniquely thorough understanding of musculoskeletal pain, the ways in which it can undermine an entire life, and the mental and physical hurdles that keep people from getting out of it.

When not filming videos, he's working out in the living room, surfing, learning dance or gymnastics moves, or riding a bike with his son in tow.

ENDING CREDITS MUSIC

ABOUT THIS VIDEO
Learn how to overcome chronic back pain, hip pain, shoulder pain, and knee pain. In this video, you'll learn the mental perspective that will help you fix joint pain for the long term. If you have chronic pain, you'll learn what causes chronic pain and how to fix it.

#ChronicPain #JointPain #UprightHealth

[Uprighthealth]

Share your favorite moments from this video by leaving the timestamp down below!

[ethanjohn]

As a young dude who has had knee and wrist issues, it all feels so unfair and painful at times. Been going to the doctor for the past three four years with very little success. I thank you for your channel because it has really helped me navigate my injuries and also gives me great peace knowing that I'm not alone in this fight.

[suesusev]

Thank you, Matt! I'm a clinical massage therapist and I have this conversation with my clients all the time. Some people just seem to be more "itisy" than others and struggle more with pain. I too have/had a body that hurts. My joints are very loose, I have cervical ribs, and four years ago was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. These are real things that matter. However, keeping my muscles balanced makes me hurt far less. It's unfortunate that my body requires more maintenance than most but if I want to have a good life, I have to put in the work. No one else can do it for me. Your videos are my go to for clients and myself. Keep up the great work, stay healthy, and I hope you can enjoy your holidays!

[gezellige_poes]

I found Matt earlier this year researching acute hip pain and convinced the Western "shoot from the hip response" of surgery was not only unacceptable, but extremely risky. Once you go under the knife and it doesn't work out, you can't just go back to pre-surgery days and reclaim parts that have been sawed off! In about 8 months, I have seen his subscriber count increase by at least 8K! That is testimony to how valid his approach is, both in managing/recovering from pain and life philosophy. I count myself very fortunate to have found Matt and apparently many feel the same way, folks like me who are looking for reasonable and sustainable management of/healing from pain. This video is a great summary and should encourage new followers to look at his extensive library of videos, many of which are well designed follow-along. Thanks, Matt, and here's to a new year of helping 1000s of people!

[davebond]

Thanks Mike its so comforting to hear doctors are full of BS . Im 51 and have had many years of really bad pain. My mission for years and still on going is to be pain free. Your vids always give me inspiration and hope thanks buddy.

[johnpearce]

thanks for your great videos, full of useful demonstrations and concepts, presented in a skillful, creative, personal and often humorous way.

[Augwa]

"I was going to end up with a long slow 40 year long death" man that hits hard cause that's exactly what I've been thinking for the past while now. Gotta keep on it! Thanks for all you do!

[TomNemec]

Merry Xmas, Matt! You make a real impact in so many lives, thanks for doing this. :)

[littledancingbear]

WOW, thank you for this. 19 years old, achilles problems, knee problem, shoulder, elbow, wrists, upper back, too many doctors who just tell me to rest... Won't give up!!

[deborahcruse]

I LOVED IT! BEEN CRYING ALL DAY... ALL OVER PAIN.. THANK YOU!!

[lothardamsch]

You are an amazing communicator! Thanks 🤗

[bloodmoon]

I lost my job at 65 and am shortly going to retire.I’ve just sat around the house, then at time for bed, just climbed into bed.This has been going on for well over a year.I hurt everywhere! Joints, especially my knees feel in absolute agony.I knew I should move but apart from shopping and housework barely did anything else.Now I’ve seen this, I’m going to walk every day and have just ordered resistance bands to use at home.Thankyou so much.Subscribed.

[martingray]

Love the message. I’ve been in the same situation for over 15yrs but after finding you channel I’ve started working on muscle and I cannot believe how much things have changed for me. Thank you so much

[kerstinkaminski]

Thank you so much for this Story! I am a 68 old woman, living in Germany! Today I will start to change my life after looking your positive report!

[annanuss]

I relate to your to story to an insane amount. It is so tremendously amazing to hear this. It’s exactly what I needed to hear. I went from varsity competitive cheerleader to graphic designer. I’m 21 now being told by physical therapists that I am not allowed to do push-ups. Worst thing I ever did to myself was rest or more so be still. The body was made to move!

[sofiamarie]

This is such an awesome explanation of not only the root cause of most musculoskeletal pain and how we each have an accountable role in the process, but also a great analogy for showing the need for nutritious movement and the lack of it not necessarily being something wrong with the body beyond lacking proper daily, balanced exercise. Thank you for doing this video! I’m going to be sharing this one a lot! 🙏🏾

[z.l.burington]

I want to thank you, though I doubt you will see this. I have been dealing with chronic pain most of my adult life, which reached a head a few months ago with horrible hip pain. I started following your excercise videos related to hip pain, and it took a few weeks but it is so minor compared to what it was then. The downside of this is that fixing a problem with, for example, my gluteus medius muscles, reveals all sorts of imbalances and muscle weaknesses in my lower back, upper back, abdomen and chest, shoulders, and neck. The upside, is now I understand that it is all muscles, and what worked to correct one problem will work to correct all of them. Any muscle weakness recovery program is necessarily systematic, because it is never just one weakness. Now when I have pain, I think, what can I exercise to make it better? So thank you, your method saved my life.

[Cool.Cat.Flannegan]

Found this channel while finding solutions to relieve my lower back that I’ve had off and on since my early 30s. In my mid 50s and this last year was pain nearly everyday. Intuitively I believe this resulted from a skiing accident when I was 10. I’ve gone to chiropractors for years with some improvement but stopped because I didn’t feel the root of the problem was being addressed.

My intuition says I need to stretch daily and keep up with strength training, so beginning this journey. Learning from these videos gives me hope for an active and ease of movement life going forward.

[joeldevriend]

Thank you for this. It feels somewhat comforting to hear the story about your 20's as it is exactly how I have been spending the past 9 years (now 29). I will dive into all the info you have on your websites to see how I can turn it around, I've been trying for a very long time to get back to a normal way of working out, living and being able to enjoy life and my body again. I think people from all ages can very much relate to your message but also be inspired by it as there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you so much!!

[PetsNPatients]

Hi Matt,
You're 100% right. Thanks for sharing this insightful message. Those sensory nerves can send truly debilitating pain messages. Turning them off can be challenging, for sure. Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 ❤