What Your Pain Might Be Signaling When Medical Tests Are Normal
- Jul 27
- 9 min read
Wendy Lee is a Holistic Healer and Trauma-Informed Coach from Hong Kong, now based in Italy. She is the founder of KusalaFlow® and specializes in nervous system regulation, energy medicine, and emotional healing through Spinal Flow® Technique, breathwork, and Compassionate Inquiry.
Physical pain should always be taken seriously. But what happens when medical tests show nothing and the pain still returns? Sometimes, the missing question is not only, “What is happening in my body?” but also, “What is my body responding to?”
The first clue came from my own body
I first understood this through my own experience. One day, I developed persistent stomach pain. It came and went for two days and became uncomfortable enough that I started to worry. I wondered whether I had eaten something wrong or whether something was happening inside my intestines. Because the pain was real and was not going away, I went to the emergency department.
They ran tests and gave me an IV. The pain settled while I was there. The doctor said everything was normal and sent me home. But when I returned home, the pain came back.
That was when I noticed something important. The pain was not constant in exactly the same way. It appeared, eased, and then returned.
I tried essential oil to soothe the area. It helped, but the pain remained. Later, I began reading, which is something I love. After a while, I realized the pain had disappeared.
Then my attention returned to my stomach. I wondered, “Do I still have pain?” Slowly, I began to feel it returning.
I went back to my book. Once I was absorbed in reading, the pain faded again. That moment changed something for me. Instead of asking only, “How do I stop this pain?” I began asking, “What might my body be responding to right now?”
What the body notices before the mind does
When I looked more closely at what was happening around me, I realized that something in my environment was creating stress in my body.
No one was intentionally doing anything wrong, but part of me did not feel fully at ease. My conscious mind did not immediately understand the reaction, yet my body was already responding.
I did not want to blame another person or the situation. I wanted to understand why I felt unsettled when there was no immediate physical danger.
As I reflected more deeply, I began connecting the reaction to much earlier patterns in my life. These were old lessons my nervous system had learned about staying safe, belonging, being accepted, and adapting to other people.
The present situation was not the original cause. It touched an older protective pattern learned long ago. My mind needed time to catch up, but my body had already responded.
Why pain can change with attention
We often assume we must consciously understand a situation before it affects us. But the body can react before the mind has found the words.
The nervous system is constantly receiving information from our surroundings. It notices tone, closeness, unpredictability, pressure, and whether we feel free to choose how we respond. Many of these reactions happen automatically.
The mind may say everything is fine because it cannot see a clear danger. Meanwhile, the body may already recognize something familiar from the past.
This does not mean the body is irrational. It may simply be responding according to what it once learned was necessary for protection.
Pain is real, even when tests are normal
Pain is real. It is not imagined, and it should never be dismissed. Pain may be due to injury, illness, inflammation, digestion, hormones, posture, or nerve irritation. Sudden, severe, or worsening pain should always be checked by a medical professional. Looking at the nervous system should never replace appropriate medical care.
However, sometimes pain continues even when medical investigations do not reveal a clear explanation. It may fluctuate, change with circumstances, or become stronger during periods of stress.
That does not make the pain fake. The nervous system is part of the body and plays a key role in how sensations are experienced. Sometimes the pain itself is not the only useful information. The pattern surrounding it may also matter.
What influences pain?
Pain rarely comes from one simple factor. Physical health, sleep, stress, movement, attention, past experiences, emotions, and environment all influence how pain is experienced.
Pain may feel worse when someone is exhausted, afraid, under pressure, or focused on the area. It can soften when they feel supported or absorbed in an activity.
This does not mean distraction cures pain. Reading did not remove my pain, but it showed me that the sensation could change depending on my attention and nervous system response.
That change gave me valuable information. It encouraged me to explore the relationship between my attention, emotions, environment, and physical experience.
Can the body remember?
Yes, the body can remember, even when the conscious mind does not clearly understand the reaction. Not every memory appears as a clear story.
Some experiences are consciously recalled through words, images, events, and timelines. Others are carried through implicit memory. These can show up as automatic reactions, emotions, physical sensations, pain, or protective behavior before the conscious mind is aware of them.
A woman may notice discomfort when she needs to say no, when she feels criticized, or when she does not feel fully free to choose. Her stomach may become painful when she feels pressured or unsettled, just as my own stomach pain appeared before my conscious mind understood what my body was reacting to.
Her body may recognize something familiar from the past while her conscious mind says, “This situation is fine,” or creates another explanation for what is happening.
Sometimes the mind can mislead us, not because it is trying to harm us, but because it is trying to explain the present using the information available.
It may minimize the stress, identify the wrong cause, or tell us that we are overreacting. The body, however, may already be responding to an older pattern involving rejection, pressure, loneliness, danger, or lack of choice.
Healing does not require forcing the past into a perfect story. The purpose is not to prove that one exact event caused a symptom. The purpose is to notice what the body may be responding to now and what helps it feel more supported. This does not mean the body is broken. It may mean the body is still trying to protect us with a response that once made sense.
Safety before analysis
When pain appears, of course I want to understand what may be causing it. But before I search for an explanation, I first help myself settle so I can respond without panic.
I slow my breathing and gently allow my exhale to become longer than my inhale. I do not force the breath or try to breathe as deeply as possible. I simply let the longer exhale create more calm and steadiness.
Then I place my hand gently over the painful area. Instead of treating that part of my body as a problem, I offer it warmth, care, and a sense of safety.
I breathe gently toward the area and notice whether the level of pain changes, even slightly. If the sensation begins to soften, I remain there a little longer. I give my body time to receive the experience of being supported rather than feared, judged, or forced to change.
The purpose is not to make the pain disappear immediately. It is to create a different relationship with the pain signal. For some people, this feeling of care and safety may provide comfort even when they do not yet understand what triggered the pain.
Each time we meet the sensation with steadiness instead of fear, we offer the nervous system a different experience. Over time, this may help build a new association with the pain signal.
Bringing the pattern into awareness
Only after my body feels more settled do I reflect on what may have triggered the reaction.
I may ask myself:
What was happening before the pain appeared?
Did something make me feel pressured, unsettled, or without choice?
Was there an emotion, need, or boundary I had not recognized?
Sometimes the connection becomes clear. At other times, it does not. We do not need to force an answer or create a story simply because we want an explanation. For some people, offering the body comfort and a sense of safety may be enough in that moment.
However, when an unconscious pattern gradually becomes conscious, we gain more choice in how we respond to it. Recognizing the deeper trigger can help us understand what the body may be trying to protect us from. We can then begin addressing the emotion, belief, need, boundary, or present situation underneath the reaction instead of focusing only on the symptom.
Bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness does not mean blaming the past for everything. It means recognizing a pattern that was previously directing our reactions without our understanding. Once we can see the pattern, we have a better chance of changing our relationship with it.
Understanding is not enough
Understanding a pattern can be deeply helpful. It can explain why we react in certain ways and help us recognize that our responses developed for a reason. But intellectual understanding does not always change an automatic physical response immediately.
A person may understand that the present is different from the past, yet still feel a familiar reaction arising. This is why healing may also require an embodied experience. The body may need supportive touch, movement, rest, connection, clearer boundaries, or a greater sense of choice. It does not only need to be told that the present is safer. It needs opportunities to experience that difference.
Rebuilding body trust
Imagine a relationship in which one person is constantly criticized, pressured, and treated as a problem that needs to be fixed.
Every conversation begins with:
“Why are you like this?”
“Why are you still struggling?”
“Why can’t you change faster?”
That relationship would not feel safe. The same can happen in our relationship with the body. When we approach the body only with frustration, judgment, or the demand that symptoms disappear, we may become even more disconnected from it.
If we focus only on what is wrong, we may overlook the protective response underneath. Trust needs to be rebuilt. The body needs to feel that we are not here to attack, shame, or force it. We are here to listen, understand, and offer support.
This does not mean accepting pain without seeking help. It means working with the body rather than treating it as the enemy.
How the ReTune Pathway supports this work
This is the foundation of my ReTune Pathway® framework, a whole-person approach that gently uncovers protective patterns, supports the nervous system, and fosters lasting change through three stages. You can download the free ReTune Pathway roadmap here.
The three stages are:
Foundation: Understanding patterns from the past that influence present stress or pain.
Active Healing: Releasing stored tension and building resilience in the body.
Integration: Maintaining progress and embodying new, healthier responses for the future.
The ReTune Pathway does not assume that all pain comes from emotions or past experiences. Instead, it looks at the body, nervous system, emotional patterns, breath, and present environment together. It includes supportive practices such as Compassion Renewal, Spinal Flow, breathwork, and self-reflection.
Compassion Renewal involves exploring emotional stress, beliefs, memories, and protective patterns that may influence how the body responds today. It focuses on reconnecting with yourself through kindness and support, creating new pathways for healing and ease.
Spinal Flow uses gentle touch on specific areas along the spine, called access points, to help the body release tension, increase awareness in the nervous system, and support calm and ease.
Breathwork and self-reflection are used alongside these practices to help you tune in, recognize patterns, and respond more compassionately to your body’s signals.
As you move through these steps, the approach gently helps you understand what your body might be responding to now and introduces ways to create a greater sense of ease and choice.
The past may help reveal where a protective pattern began. The present gives the body an opportunity to respond differently. The future may begin to change when old protection no longer controls the present in the same way.
As the nervous system becomes more supported, we may feel more able to make choices, express our needs, establish boundaries, and live with greater ease in the body.
The body is communicating
My stomach pain taught me something important. The body may react before the conscious mind understands what is happening.
Pain should always be taken seriously, but when appropriate medical checks are reassuring, it may also help to explore the wider pattern. Before searching for an explanation, begin by offering the body support.
Slow the breath without forcing it. Let the exhale become slightly longer. Place a hand gently over the uncomfortable area and notice whether the sensation changes when it is met with care rather than fear. Gentle movement, grounding, and simple self-care can also help the body experience calm and support from more than one direction.
The trigger may not become clear immediately. That does not mean the practice has failed. Creating a sense of safety may itself begin changing the relationship with the pain signal. When the body settles, what was previously unconscious may gradually become easier to recognize.
These steps are not about blaming the mind for physical pain. They are about listening to the whole person. Through the ReTune Pathway, I bring together Compassion Renewal, Spinal Flow, and breathwork to support the body, nervous system, and emotional world together.
Healing may begin when we stop treating the body as the enemy and start becoming curious about what it has been trying to communicate.
Read more from Lee Suet Fong Wendy
Lee Suet Fong Wendy, Holistic Healer and Trauma-Informed Coach
Wendy Lee is a Holistic Healer, Trauma-Informed Coach, and the founder of KusalaFlow®, a healing studio based in Italy devoted to energy medicine, nervous system regulation, and trauma-informed care. Born in Hong Kong, Wendy draws from an integrative healing toolkit that includes Spinal Flow® Technique, breathwork, sound healing, Compassionate Inquiry, and Star Magic remote healing. She helps clients release emotional, physical, and energetic pain, supporting them to reconnect with their true selves and awaken the innate intelligence within.
