Function Over Fixation- A Shift In How We Talk About Pain

When someone’s been in pain for a while, it’s easy – understandably – to make being pain-free the main goal, but in truth, that binary thinking of ‘pain or no pain’, can be frustrating, disheartening, and misleading.

It might even stop people from noticing the meaningful progress, they are making.

It can be more helpful to encourage a gentle shift: from obsessing over pain levels to noticing functional daily improvements.

Can you walk a bit further before the pain kicks in?

Aim to sleep a bit better?

Feel less afraid to move?

These are the real wins.

Even if the pain is still hanging around at the same level, if someone can do more with it – move more freely, rest more deeply, or show up to more of their life – that’s significant. That’s a focal point.

We are not ignoring pain but we are refusing to let it be the only measure of success. Think about giving pain less ‘main character energy’ than it deserves and expand your life around it instead.

So whether you are a yoga teacher/pilates instructor/personal trainer, working with people in pain, experiencing it yourself or know someone who is:

try guiding attention to function.

Notice what’s growing, not just what’s hurting. This mindset doesn’t just change the story – it puts people back in charge of it.