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Monday 07:30 - 16:30 Tuesday 07:30 - 16:30 Wednesday 07:30 - 16:30 Thursday 07:30 - 16:30 Friday 07:30 - 16:30

Dr Neil Cuninghame

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Dr Neil Cuninghame

Helping you break free from pain and live fully again. Empowering patients and practitioners with expert pain insights.

Chiropractor and pain management specialist | Speaker & educator | Husband, father, athlete. I am a Chiropractor with a special interest in pain, chronic pain specifically, and how the nervous system plays a role in our function and outcomes

01/04/2026

Your nervous system is constantly learning and when you experience pain repeatedly during a movement, even after healing, the brain pairs the movement with danger and this becomes a learned pain habit, a conditioned response.

For example, bending “always hurts”, walking “always flares it”, turning your neck “always causes pain”. The beauty of understating this is knowing that what is learned can be unlearned.

So how do we start to change how our brains perceive threat?

We slowly introduce the least threatening movement, gently, one step at a time, repeating it often in a calm state. If we sense that fear is creeping in we stop, making sure to pair movement with reassurance and positive input.

Over time we then gradually increase range and load.

Remember that your brain changes through safe experiences, repeated consistently over time.

30/03/2026

Music therapy reduces perceived pain intensity in many clinical settings. Mechanisms include emotional regulation, distraction, activation of reward pathways, and increased endogenous opioid release.
The brain does not process pain in isolation, emotional state and sensory context influence the final experience. So put your favorite music on, take some time out, and let your nervous system do the rest.

29/03/2026

Fear keeps pain alive and here is how it happens:
 1️⃣ You experience pain
2️⃣ You anticipate danger
3️⃣ You avoid movement
4️⃣ The nervous system sensitizes
5️⃣ Pain feels worse

This is called the fear-avoidance cycle and over time, it can quietly limit your life, confidence, and ability to move freely.

The way out is in creating evidence of safety in your nervous system.

By moving safely in a controlled, progressive way, your nervous system learns that movement is safe and small, repeated steps lead to measurable change.

Not sure where to start?
Try this today: Identify one movement you’ve been avoiding and safely attempt a tiny part of it today. Every small success is progress.

21/03/2026

Chronic pain is associated with attentional bias toward painful areas and increased activity in the brain’s salience network.

Redirecting attention to neutral or comfortable sensations may reduce the dominance of danger signals within the brain’s processing networks.

Attention is a powerful amplifier of sensory experience.

20/03/2026

Persistent pain is associated with increased activity in the brain’s salience network, which prioritises signals perceived as important or threatening.

Continuous stimulation may increase cognitive load and maintain sympathetic activation. Brief periods of quiet or mindful awareness may help reduce vigilance and support autonomic regulation.

19/03/2026

Sleep disruption is strongly associated with increased pain sensitivity and reduced descending pain inhibition.

Morning light activates specialised retinal cells that communicate with the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the brain’s master circadian clock.

Consistent light exposure helps regulate melatonin timing and improves sleep architecture, particularly slow-wave sleep which supports recovery and pain modulation.

18/03/2026

Slow breathing at around 4 to 6 breaths per minute increases vagal tone, improves heart rate variability, and enhances autonomic regulation.

This influences brain regions involved in pain perception, including the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and amygdala, reducing overactive threat signalling.

Repeated practice can lower baseline nervous system sensitivity, making ordinary sensations feel less alarming.

26/02/2026

Pain is a decision, not a damage meter.

That doesn’t mean pain is imagined and it doesn’t mean tissue damage is irrelevant. It means pain is a protective response. Your brain is constantly asking “How dangerous is this situation right now?”

In the boxing clip at the end, the fighter breaks his wrist during the match. Strangely he doesn’t seem to feel it and keeps fighting. Only after he has won does the break become obvious and the pain sets in.
The injury didn’t suddenly appear after the fight but the danger level changed.

During the fight his adrenaline was high and the threat felt immediate, performance and survival mattered most. In that moment, pain would have reduced his ability to respond and so the brain temporarily turned the volume down. When the fight ended and the threat dropped, protection was no longer competing with something more urgent and the pain increased.
This is how the system works.

Tissue state is one input, but so are stress, fear, context, memory, expectation, and emotion.
Your brain integrates all of it, and pain is the output.
The same system that can turn pain down can also turn it up.

Understanding pain changes how we respond to it and how we recover.

Boxing video:

24/02/2026

WHAT A DAY!

Capital City Marathon was yet again a rollercoaster of emotion from start to finish!

8km into the race turned to me and said ‘go, I don’t think I’m going to carry on’. She was dizzy, nauseous, and just couldn’t run. Fast forward a few hours and not only did she keep pushing through the pain and urge to jump into the closest car but she came sprinting in across the line to the cheers and screams of not only me but all the Hillcrest Villagers lined up along the track, cheering her on. In one of the most incredible acts of perseverance and resilience Niki crossed the line within the qualifying time and secured her place in Two Oceans. Proud is an understatement!

Qualifier done! Onwards and upwards 💪🏻

12/02/2026

Many people confuse pacing with avoidance.
 But here’s the key difference:
Avoidance shrinks your world whereas pacing expands it.

Avoidance = reacting to fear
* stopping because of panic
* never attempting difficult things
* removing activities permanently
* reducing life demands
* reinforcing danger memories
Avoidance increases fear and sensitivity.

Pacing = planning your energy, and allows you to:
* stay active
* avoid overwhelming your system
* build tolerance gradually
* gain confidence
* reduce flare-ups
* stay consistent
* prevent the boom–bust cycle

Here’s how to start pacing effectively:
1. Break tasks into smaller steps
2. Add rest before you get tired
3. Alternate physical and mental loads
4. Prioritise, plan, and pause
5. Maintain consistency rather than intensity
6. Stay inside your “safe but challenging” zone

Pacing keeps you moving, safely. And the nervous system learns from safe movement.

09/02/2026

Slow progress is not failure, it is accurate, evidence-based recovery.

When your nervous system is sensitive, rushing movement signals danger.
 Going slowly signals safety. Slow is more effective because when you move slowly, you give your brain time to:
* scan the environment
* confirm there’s no danger
* relax unnecessary tension
* reduce protective guarding
* update movement predictions
* desensitise gradually
* and stay below the fear threshold
This allows healing to happen without triggering alarm responses.

Fast pushes → fear rises → pain rises.

People often think they need to push through, but pushing:
* spikes sympathetic activation
* increases protective tension
* reinforces fear
* increases flare-ups
* and slows down long-term recovery

Slow movement teaches safety.

Try this at home if you are battling to overcome pain or are fearful of movement:
1. Start with a small, gentle range
2. Move at half your usual speed
3. Exhale through the movement
4. Pause if you feel fear rising
5. Repeat 5–10 gentle reps

Slow builds confidence. Confidence builds capacity. Capacity reduces pain.
Slow is not weakness. Slow is wisdom.

06/02/2026

A core principle is that pain and safety are inversely related.
 When your nervous system feels unsafe both physically, emotionally, or cognitively, it increases protection, and pain rises.

This means pain is not a measurement of damage. It’s a measurement of perceived threat.

- Threat can rise because of things like:
* stress
* fear
* exhaustion
* unpredictability
* emotional overload
* past traumas
* movement avoidance
* worry about the future
* feeling unsupported
* catastrophising

None of these involve tissue injury. They involve a nervous system trying to protect you.

- How to increase your sense of safety:
* slow breathing (especially long exhales)
* predictable routines
* gradual exposure
* reassuring self-talk
* controlled movement
* guided imagery
* positive emotional states
* grounding practices

- Here is a simple safety exercise:
Place a hand on your chest. Long exhale. Say softly: “I’m safe. This is discomfort, not danger.”
Safety quiets pain. And safety is a skill you can retrain.

Address

2 Meyrickton Place
Hillcrest
3650

Opening Hours

Monday	07:30 - 16:30
Tuesday	07:30 - 16:30
Wednesday	07:30 - 16:30
Thursday	07:30 - 16:30
Friday	07:30 - 16:30

Website

https://www.drneilcuninghame.com/chiropractic-online-booking/

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