Yet obviously, there are still many useful clues as to what is happening on the inside of our bodies. When we are very healthy or very sick, these are especially obvious, even to the untrained eye. 

Symptoms tell us a lot, and so can investigations like blood tests and scans. Yet clearly, the awkward truth is that 99.9% of what the patient’s body does is still unseen and unmeasurable. It’s easier to investigate outer space than the inner workings of the body.

So much goes on without being seen, felt, heard or measured by us or our doctors. 

If someone is on course for a heart attack two years from now, they might already have some symptoms – but it’s also possible they have no symptoms. Their first symptom might be the heart attack itself, after decades of heart disease. This is an example of latency.

There is often an incubation period between contracting a virus and the onset of the symptoms. In fact, some infections like the Herpes virus can sit in the body for decades undetected. This is another example of latency. 

We observe breast screening routinely because we know that breast tissue can easily harbour cancerous cells that are not noticed by a patient. Unseen, unfelt cancerous cells in breast tissue are an example of latency.

People with IBS can go for long periods with no symptoms until they encounter some stress or eat the wrong thing. The IBS was sat in a state of latency until it was triggered.

These small examples demonstrate how latency works. And that we are mostly aware that latency is common to many, if not all, chronic health complaints. Yet many pain sufferers still completely overlook the fact that latency applies to pain too. But they shouldn’t because it applies to chronic musculoskeletal issues in a big way.

Radiologists routinely find spinal disc protrusions, arthritis, cartilage tears, enlarged bursa and tendon tears in patients that have no symptoms whatsoever. Many of these people go their whole lives with no symptoms. Others have very intermittent symptoms, like an asthmatic. This is absolutely normal and clearly demonstrates latency in the musculoskeletal system.

Outside of physical wear and tear, latency also applies to simple mechanical pain. The headache sufferer, neck pain sufferer, back pain sufferer, RSI sufferer, and Achilles pain sufferer all tend to have symptoms that come and go. Many go long periods with no pain at all, only to find it comes back at certain times or periods of their life.