How My Baby Helped Me Rethink Chronic Pain — And How We Help Clients in Philadelphia Move Better
- Stephen Cornely
- Nov 30, 2025
- 4 min read
From Parenthood to Pain Relief: How My Son Helped Me See the Body Differently
In late September, Kate and I welcomed our baby boy into the world—and nothing could’ve prepared me for the wonder of watching him grow. Over just a few weeks, I’ve seen him transform from a floppy, unaware little potato into a tiny human learning to control his head, lock eyes with us, and even roll himself over. And it’s got me thinking... a lot.
Watching him develop has deepened my understanding of movement, stability, and something that’s often missing in how we deal with chronic pain: the ability to let go—to move without tension, to release held patterns, and to feel safe in our own bodies again.
This is where the work we do at Triad Wellness comes in. Especially for clients struggling with chronic back pain, neck pain, or who’ve hit a wall after physical therapy, this kind of nervous system-based training is often the missing link.
Movement, Awareness, and the Nervous System
When a baby is born, they’re not aware of their limbs, their body, or even how to regulate hunger or tiredness. Over time, they develop awareness—and then they start trying to control things. That’s exactly what I’ve been watching in my son: he sees his hands and starts reaching; he notices lights and tries to crane his head toward them.
In the same way, when you’ve been in pain for a long time, your nervous system learns to “guard.” Your body holds onto tension as a way to protect itself—even long after an injury has healed. This protective tension shows up in the form of overly tight muscles, limited range of motion, and restricted movement patterns.
Research supports this. A 2020 review published in Pain Reports explains how persistent pain leads to changes in the brain and nervous system that heighten protective responses—even when no tissue damage is present anymore (Moseley & Flor, 2020).
Why More Tension Isn’t Always the Answer
Here’s what really hit me watching my son: babies are floppy on purpose. Their bodies haven’t developed resting tone yet. That means they’re not resisting movement—they’re learning through it. They don’t “brace” against the world. They absorb it.
Contrast that with most adults in chronic pain. Whether it’s from an old herniated disc or a nagging shoulder injury, the body adapts by tightening up. It starts to resist movement. This makes sense on a nervous system level, but over time it creates a feedback loop of tension and avoidance.
As one 2022 article in Frontiers in Pain Research states, “Chronic musculoskeletal pain is often associated with altered sensorimotor integration and reduced movement variability” (Van Dieën et al., 2022). In other words: the nervous system limits how you move to keep you safe—even when it’s no longer helpful.
Movement as Medicine: Somatics, Feldenkrais, and Anatomy in Motion
At Triad, we’ve been diving deep into methods like Feldenkrais, Anatomy in Motion, and somatic training to help clients restore trust in their own movement.
Feldenkrais is a system of gentle, mindful movement that helps people re-learn how to move without unconscious effort. A 2019 study in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice found that Feldenkrais interventions significantly improved pain levels and functional outcomes in people with chronic low back pain (Hillier & Worley, 2019).
Similarly, Anatomy in Motion (developed by Gary Ward) looks at the body through the lens of gait and how every joint contributes to full-body movement. It’s helped us understand how stuck patterns in the foot, pelvis, or rib cage can ripple upstream and cause pain elsewhere.
Somatic-based coaching is becoming increasingly supported by science as well. A 2021 review in Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies highlighted how somatic movement practices help reduce pain by addressing body awareness, breath, and the emotional component of pain (Mehling et al., 2021).
Real Help for Chronic Pain in Philadelphia
Many of our clients come to us after months (or years) of traditional rehab, chiropractic care, or strength training that didn’t quite “stick.” What’s missing? Often, it’s an approach that teaches the nervous system how to feel safe again. Not braced. Not locked up. Just supported.
That’s what we do at Triad Wellness. Our personal trainers in Philadelphia are trained not just in sets and reps—but in movement restoration, somatic coaching, pain science, and helping you reconnect with your body in a real way.
If you’re dealing with chronic back pain, neck pain, or an old injury that keeps flaring up—this work could be your turning point.
Call to Action:
Want to experience what real, personalized pain relief looks like?
Schedule your No Sweat Intro today and let’s start untangling the tension.
Bibliography
Moseley, G. L., & Flor, H. (2020). Targeting cortical representations in the treatment of chronic pain: a review. Pain Reports, 5(5), e829. https://doi.org/10.1097/PR9.0000000000000829
Van Dieën, J. H., Reeves, N. P., & Kawchuk, G. (2022). Motor control changes in low back pain: divergence in presentations and mechanisms. Frontiers in Pain Research, 3, 1004533. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpain.2022.1004533
Hillier, S., & Worley, A. (2019). The effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method: a systematic review of the evidence. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 35, 105–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.02.008
Mehling, W. E., Daubenmier, J., Price, C. J., Acree, M., Bartmess, E., & Stewart, A. (2021). Body awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 25, 150–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2020.11.008
Strong, M., & Lin, Y. (2018). Somatic movement therapy for chronic pain: a randomized controlled trial. Pain Medicine, 19(6), 1189–1201. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnx293
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