Protection Proceeds Pain: How the Body Guards Long Before It Hurts

At some point, nearly everyone has felt that classic pull in the back of the legs. “My hamstrings are tight,” we say, assuming it's just from sitting too much or skipping stretches after a workout. But whether it’s a tight hamstring, a cranky knee, or a flare-up in your shoulder, most often, the discomfort you're feeling isn't the actual problem... it could simply just be the alarm going off.

What we’ve found at Neuro Muscle Works is this: protection precedes pain. The body rarely breaks down without first trying to guard, stabilize, or compensate. Pain is often the second step in the story.

Much like our makeup of our body, we like to think in layers. We don’t treat pain as an isolated issue. Instead, we look at it as a signal that is part of a bigger pattern that begins subtly and builds over time. That’s where our Pain Progression Pyramid comes in.

This concept applies to more than just one region of the body:

• Headaches may begin with inhibited neck stabilizers or dehydration

• Shoulder pain may start with abdominal wall inhibition or poor breathing mechanics during a sprinting run

• Knee pain may reflect hip compensation or lymphatic stagnation

• Plantar fasciitis may begin with gluteal inhibition or poor footwear mechanics

Each symptom sits on a chain of events, and our job is to trace it back to the root.

The Pain Progression Pyramid:

1st - Bottom Tier: The “Normal” Feeling of Tightness

You might feel:

• Tight hamstrings (even when you’re flexible in certain positions)

• Fatigue in one glute after standing or walking

• General stiffness or “weakness” without injury

• “Carrying our stress on our shoulders”

Example: One patient could touch his toes easily while seated on the floor with legs extended, but struggled to reach his knees when standing. Why? The body was protecting his spine by tightening up his posterior kinetic chain while standing, because that’s when gravity put his spine specifically at risk.

What’s happening? This isn’t a flexibility issue. It’s a neurological pattern. The nervous system is tightening muscles to brace against perceived instability or irritation often higher up the chain, like the spine, pelvis, or even diaphragm.

2nd - Middle Tier: Compensation Becomes Dysfunction

At this point, you might start feeling:

• Sciatic-like symptoms

• Hip pinching or deep buttock discomfort

• Thoracic tension or shoulder instability

• Foot pain or altered gait

• Or any specific “diagnosis” that doctors hand out

These aren’t always caused by a local problem. They’re often the fallout of previous tightness going unaddressed. As one region protects, another picks up the slack and eventually breaks down.

Example: After discovering a benign tumor in his spine, a patient who had struggled with sciatica, hamstring tightness, and hip pain for months finally became pain-free after surgical removal of the growth. Through our Hypertonic Anatomy Model (HAM) manual assessments, we concluded this was more than just tight hamstrings which lead to an MRI in search for more answers.

That’s the power of assessing beyond the pain site.

Why the Body Prioritizes Sciatic Pain Over Spinal Compression

Here’s something we see all the time: a patient has a disc bulge or nerve impingement on imaging… yet the sciatic pain is what the body prioritizes.

Why? Because the sciatic nerve is longer, more exposed, and more vulnerable. It doesn’t have the same protective structures that spinal roots do. So when the body senses danger at the spine, it sends the signal downstream often triggering tension around the piriformis, hamstrings, or even calf.

Sciatic pain isn’t just referred pain. It’s perceived danger along a more fragile, accessible stretch of the nerve. The body sounds the alarm where it feels most at risk, not necessarily where the compression is occurring.

3rd - Top Tier: Structural Findings (Often Silent Until They're Not)

• Disc bulges or herniations

• Labral fraying or tendon thickening

• Facet joint degeneration

Believe it or not: 30% of adults in their 20s and up to 84% of adults in their 80s have disc bulges—and most don’t feel a thing. These aren’t "active problems" until something disrupts your neurological balance.

That’s why the Hypertonic Anatomy Model (HAM) exists. It’s not about waiting for damage to appear. It’s about identifying the patterns that precede the pain.

What Makes the HAM Model Different

The HAM model guides us through this pyramid with real-time feedback. We:

• Assess you head-to-toe using neurological muscle testing or begin at the site of your main concern

• Reactivate inhibited muscles to restore function

• Use your body’s response to determine what matters most right now

We don’t guess. We listen to what your nervous system says.

Ready to Stop Chasing Symptoms?

Whether it’s your hamstring, your jaw, or your heel, pain is just a clue. We help you interpret it before it turns into something bigger. The sooner we listen, the sooner your body can feel safe and strong again.

Book your evaluation today and experience the difference of a system designed to find what others miss. With a system built on identifying the body's protective patterns, we help you resolve the root not just the symptom.