KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
Pain flares are one of the most frustrating parts of living with persistent pain. You may feel as though you’re making progress, only to wake up one morning with pain that feels as bad as it did months before. This can be frightening. Many people worry they have caused more damage or that their condition is getting worse. The good news is that most pain flares are temporary. Understanding why they happen can help you respond calmly and recover more quickly.
A pain flare is a temporary increase in your usual pain. It may last a few hours, several days, or occasionally a few weeks. Although flares feel alarming, they do not usually mean new injury or permanent damage. Instead, they often reflect a temporary increase in the sensitivity of your nervous system.
Think of your nervous system as a smoke alarm. A normal alarm only sounds when there is a real fire. A sensitive alarm starts reacting to burnt toast, steam from the shower or a little dust. Persistent pain behaves in a similar way. During a flare, your nervous system becomes temporarily more protective, meaning everyday activities that were manageable yesterday may suddenly become painful today.
COMMON FLARE TRIGGERS
Poor sleep • Stress • Illness • Hormonal changes • Too much activity • Too little activity • Travel • Weather
SENSITIVE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The body’s alarm system becomes temporarily more protective.
Increased pain
Poor sleep
Fatigue
Brain fog
Muscle tension
Worry & reduced confidence
How you respond to a flare can influence how quickly your nervous system settles.
RECOVERING FROM A FLARE
• Stay calm and reassure yourself
• Reduce activity without stopping completely
• Keep moving gently
• Prioritise sleep
• Pace your return to normal activities
• Use medication appropriately
• Practise relaxation or mindfulness
• Ask for support when needed
A flare is often caused by several small factors happening together rather than one single event. Common triggers include poor sleep, doing too much on a good day, stress, illness, hormonal changes and sometimes changes in weather. Even one or two disrupted nights can increase pain sensitivity, while physical or emotional stress can make the body’s alert systems more active. Some people also notice symptoms changing around menstruation, menopause, cold weather, damp weather or after travel.
Usually not. This is one of the biggest fears people have. Persistent pain behaves differently from acute injury. During a flare, your nervous system becomes more protective, but this does not necessarily mean your joints, muscles or spine have become more damaged. Of course, if you experience a significant new injury or develop worrying symptoms, you should seek medical advice.
The aim is not to ignore the flare, but to respond in a way that helps your nervous system settle again. Helpful strategies include accepting that flares happen, reducing activity slightly rather than stopping completely, moving gently if possible, prioritising sleep, continuing relaxation or breathing exercises, using medication as agreed with your healthcare professional, staying connected with family and friends, and being kind to yourself.
Sometimes our natural reactions accidentally keep a flare going for longer. Try to avoid staying in bed for long periods, panicking that something is seriously wrong, repeatedly searching online for worst-case scenarios, trying to push through severe pain, cancelling all activity for weeks, or feeling guilty about needing to slow down.
Although most flares settle, you should seek medical assessment if you develop new weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, fever, significant trauma, severe unexplained swelling, or rapidly worsening symptoms that feel different from your usual pain.
One of the most valuable parts of managing persistent pain is learning to recognise your own flare patterns. Together, we can identify the factors that trigger your symptoms, develop practical strategies to reduce their impact and build confidence in managing future flares. Over time, many people find that flares become less frequent, shorter and easier to recover from.
“One of the biggest changes I see in clinic is when someone stops fearing a flare. Once you understand that a flare usually reflects a temporary increase in nervous system sensitivity rather than new damage, it becomes much easier to respond calmly. That doesn’t make the pain any less real, but it often makes recovery quicker and helps you regain confidence in your body.”