Why Chronic Pain Persists: The System Within
THE SYSTEM WITHIN:
Why Chronic Pain, Digestive Issues, and Tension Are Signals.
Every gym has the same paradox.
Some people feel DOMS once in a while, the healthy soreness that comes from hitting a new rep range, a slightly heavier load, or a movement they haven’t touched for a while.
And then there are the others:
always tight
always aching
always stiff
always in discomfort
shoulders, back, glutes, hips
sometimes migraines
sometimes digestive chaos
sometimes a general sense of “something’s off”
Yet when it comes to training?
They never experience DOMS. They never hit enough effort to provoke adaptation. They never break through their true capacity.
And the chronic pain stays.
This confuses them.
But it doesn’t confuse me.
Because this isn’t a strength issue. It isn’t an age issue. It isn’t mobility, technique, or “weak glutes.”
This is a nervous-system issue.
A psychological pattern issue.
And sometimes, a generational conditioning issue that has nothing to do with the program and everything to do with the person’s internal landscape.
Let’s get into the truth few people ever name aloud.
1. Chronic pain with zero DOMS
is not about the body, it’s about a system stuck in protection mode.
DOMS is a sign of fresh stimulus. It means your body encountered something new and responded with growth.
Chronic tension, however - shoulders, traps, jaw, glutes, low back, is a sign your nervous system is bracing, not adapting.
Bracing happens when your internal world feels unsafe or unresolved, even if your external world looks fine.
A body in constant protection cannot create the freedom required for effort. Effort requires surrender. Bracing is the opposite.
That’s why these clients:
avoid intensity
fear discomfort
never push past the threshold
stay below work capacity
and then wonder why their back “always hurts”
They aren’t weak. They’re guarding.
2. This is NOT age or an age related condition.
It’s identity, conditioning, and inherited patterns.
People love blaming age. It gives them an excuse that sounds socially acceptable.
But chronic pain patterns often start long before adulthood.
They’re shaped by:
cultural norms (“don’t show weakness,” “push through,” “hold it together”)
family environments (masculine rigidity, rigidity in general, suppressed emotion, instability)
generational trauma (unprocessed stress passed down through behaviour)
childhood patterns (“be good,” “stay small,” “don’t express discomfort”)
social conditioning (“cope quietly”)
These are not age markers. They are identity markers.
A person who grew up in a household where they had to hold everything together will grow into an adult whose body permanently “holds.”
You see it in:
locked glutes
tight jaw
tight neck
braced core
shallow breathing
frozen rib cage
And because they live braced, they train braced. A braced body cannot adapt. It can only survive. That’s why they feel pain, not progress.
3. The digestive system tells the same story.
IBS-like symptoms. Random stomach pain. Bloating. Constipation or diarrhoea cycles. Ulcer-like pressure. Nausea under stress.
People assume:
food intolerance
bad diet
“sensitive stomach”
age
random misfortune
But digestion is one of the purest mirrors of your autonomic state.
When someone constantly lives in sympathetic overdrive (fight-or-flight), the digestive system shuts down efficiency in favour of survival:
slowed transit
spasms
irregular signalling
inflammation
hypersensitivity
stomach holding patterns
reduced enzymatic activity
This is not a digestive issue. This is a nervous-system rigidity issue that happens to express itself through digestion.
A body that never feels safe cannot digest well. It cannot relax the gut. And it cannot use nutrients effectively.
The same people who never adapt in the gym?
They often have digestive symptoms for the same reason. Their system is stuck in protection, not expression.
4. Migraines and headaches often follow the same pattern.
Chronic migraine clients almost always carry:
tension behind the eyes
jaw clenching
tight neck
overactive traps
shallow breathing
emotional fatigue
unresolved stress cycles
perfectionistic self-pressure
Migraines often arise from the same pattern:
A system too vigilant to release tension.
The brain is not overloaded by training.
It’s overloaded by identity:
“I need to get everything right.”
“I must hold myself together.”
“I can’t relax.”
“I can’t fail.”
“I need to stay in control.”
“I can’t slow down.”
These psychological states create physiological responses. Headaches and migraines are simply the body’s alarm bells.
And once again:
No DOMS.
No progression.
But constant pain.
The nervous system is expressing what the person won’t.
5. DOMS requires effort.
Effort requires emotional safety. Many people have never trained from safety.
To create DOMS, you need:
mechanical tension
consistency
slight overload
trust in your capacity
a willingness to step into discomfort
a nervous system that says “we can handle this”
People stuck in chronic pain patterns rarely have that internal permission.
Their internal narrative sounds like:
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Be careful.”
“What if I hurt myself?”
“I’m fragile.”
“I’m too old.”
“I’m just stiff.”
“This is just how I am.”
These aren’t truths. They’re protective identities.
And protective identities block growth. That’s why they remain in chronic tension yet never access the healthy, productive discomfort of adaptation.
6. This is not a WS9 Fitness programming failure.
The program is exposing the deeper issue.
The system is sound. Progressive. Varied. Safe. Intelligent.
Built around longevity, not chaos.
When someone stays stuck, it’s not the system. It’s their internal resistance to expression.
The WS9 environment simply reveals where they are braced - physically, emotionally, psychologically.
It mirrors the gap between who they are and who they could be. And that’s uncomfortable.
Which is why some people retreat into the familiar narrative:
“It’s my age.”
“It’s my genetics.”
“It’s my body type.”
“It’s my tight back.”
No. It’s the unresolved internal work they haven’t confronted.
7. The exit path is not mobility or supplements
it’s internal integration.
Chronic bracing dissolves when the person:
stops protecting old identity patterns
stops hiding behind “safe effort”
stops fearing discomfort
stops performing below capability
starts breathing fully
starts allowing intensity
starts taking ownership
starts telling the truth about their effort
When they finally, honestly train, not perform, not hide, not tiptoe, their chronic tension eases and DOMS appears.
Because DOMS is a sign of adaptation.
Chronic pain is a sign of stagnation.
One requires bravery.
The other requires nothing.
8. The real message their body is sending
If someone experiences:
chronic tightness
chronic digestive issues
chronic headaches
chronic underperformance
but zero DOMS and zero adaptation
Their body is not saying:
“I’m old.”
“I’m fragile.”
“I’m just stiff.”
“I can’t improve.”
“I’m broken.”
It’s saying:
“I’ve been protecting you for years.
But you no longer need protection
you need honest effort.”
The body is waiting for permission to grow. And that permission is internal, not physical.
9. The takeaway
Chronic pain without progress is not a function of age.
It’s a function of identity, nervous-system state, and inherited patterns that have never been addressed.
The people who transform are the people who:
train honestly
breathe deeply
step into effort
confront their internal narratives
expand their nervous system’s sense of “safe capacity”
allow intensity rather than fear it
stop bracing and start expressing
This is The System Within. The unseen layer beneath strength, mobility, and conditioning.
Research referenced in this article:
Apkarian AV et al. J Neurosci, 2009 – Chronic pain and CNS plasticity.
Vlaeyen J & Linton S. Pain, 2000 – Fear-avoidance and pain persistence.
Quartana PJ et al. Pain, 2010 – Emotional suppression and muscle tension.
Laborde S et al. Front Psychol, 2018 – Vagal tone and performance.
Yehuda R et al. Biol Psychiatry, 2016 – Intergenerational transmission of stress.
