Pain is a Signal. Are You Listening?
For some, it’s a mild frustration, a distraction from playing your best, or something you only feel after several hours of activity. For others, chronic pain is something to adapt their lives around.
Whether it’s physical, emotional, or psychological, I don’t think we talk about our pain enough. Pain is the one thing we all have in common.
You might be guilty of comparative suffering. Comparative suffering is the belief that your pain or misfortunes are not worthy of concern because other people are worse off than you. We act this way so we don’t burden others or it is an attempt to be compassionate.
But compassion for yourself invites more empathy from others.
Pain is a signal that requires investigation. It intends to spark a change.
What do you do with your pain?
Maybe it’s fuel, motivation to get stronger. Maybe it’s a sign to pause or stop. A sign that God or the Universe hates you? (No, it’s not that one).
Whatever the perspective you hold, it’s okay. Do what feels right for you and the life that you want.
Can you use it to heal yourself and others? Can you learn from it?
There is no right way. Listen to your body. The body isn’t only to be listened to when the situation is dire.
Trying to ignore pain only makes it worse — makes it yell louder.
My physical pain reminds me to check in with my body. My emotional pain allows me to write vulnerably.
Pool Players Living with Chronic Pain
Jeanette Lee
If we list pool players who live with chronic pain, it wouldn’t take long for Jeanette Lee’s name to be mentioned. She became the biggest pool player of her generation while bearing the agony of post-surgery scoliosis.
In 2016, Lee wrote about her chronic pain, post 10 neck and back surgeries.
“I have developed multiple conditions including deteriorated discs, degenerative disc disease, carpal tunnel syndrome and severe sciatic pain. I have bursitis in both shoulders and both hips. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. There’s not a minute that goes by that I’m not in pain.”
Reading this is heartbreaking to me, but she’s not finished.
“Yet in spite of it all, I have to keep going.
Today I am strong. Not because I feel strong, but because I keep going even when I think I can’t. I have learned that being brave is not the absence of fear but the courage to face it. It is pushing through discomfort, weakness, fear, sadness and doubt.
It is in these moments when you find out who you really are and who you were meant to be.”
Sometimes I think how can I keep playing pool for the long-term if I feel like this at age 34?
When I’m in pain, I’m inspired by Jeanette Lee.
John Morra
I also look up to John Morra.
In 2018, he famously shocked the sporting world when he switched to shooting left-handed in the middle of his pro career. He is left-eye dominant so the misalignment as a right-hander stressed his trapezius muscle.
Before the switch, he was contemplating quitting, but life without competing didn’t suit him. He trained his left hand for about a year before heading back on the road.
“I was in a bad mind frame mostly all the time,” Morra said. “It just affected my mood. It affected my whole nature, my whole mentality surrounding the game and my life too. When you’re always in pain, you’re not enjoying life in general.”
Me
Like John, I also have tension in my trapezius muscle, which is not uncommon for pool players. And I have chronic pain.
I have hypermobility; it affects all my joints but my shoulders in particular.
I am conscious of how I place my bridge arm on the pool table because I can hyperextend my shoulder if I’m not careful. I must do shoulder exercises for life to prevent impingement.
I have a hard time standing for more than a few minutes at a time. I have random hip and knee pains.
Chronic pain changes you. You usually won’t be the same person you were before it. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
I’m learning that it’s not a disaster. I have lived through pain and seen joy on the other side. I’d rather have neck and shoulder pain than the pain of an unfulfilling life.
Morra and Lee have different stories and ailments, but neither of them could live without playing pool. They found a way to make that happen despite the pain.
Disclaimer: This is not meant to trivialize anyone who lives with chronic pain or had to quit something they love because of it.
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Pocket Watch: A blog to share the lessons learned about the mental game of pool and billiards written by a competitive pool player on her road to pro. (#04)
