The smoke alarm and the burnt toast

The Monthly-ish # 7: November 10th 2026

On the weekend, a friend was telling me about a smoke alarm that keeps going off in her house for no apparent reason (naturally, always in the middle of the night).

Has this ever happened to you?

When we lived in our Toronto apartment, the smoke alarm would go off in our bedroom nearly every time we made toast. 

We got very good at fanning a tea towel at the ceiling.

The alarm was loud. 

And it never went off where the toast actually was.

Pain can work the same way.

Why This Happens

Your body is one connected system. Muscles, joints, and nerves all share wiring, and your brain is not always great at pinpointing exactly where a signal came from. 

Sometimes it gets the general area right and the exact spot wrong.

Basically, it's giving directions by waving its arm and saying, “It's somewhere over there…ish.”

So you end up with things like:

• A knee problem that's really coming from the hip

• A shoulder ache that starts in the upper back

• Toddler constipation that traces back to a tight ankle

• A feeding issue that’s linked to a baby’s ribs

What This Means for You

If you've been stretching, icing, or rubbing the problem area and nothing changes, it may not be the real source. You're resetting the alarm in the bedroom instead of checking the kitchen.

What I Do About It

You’ve probably noticed that when you come in I don't just look at the spot that hurts. I look above it, below it, and at how you move as a whole. Often the fix is a few steps away from where you feel it.

Try This at Home

Next time something aches, ask yourself:

• Did it start after a change like a new job, a new baby, or a new routine?

• What are the areas above and below doing?

• Does it ease when you change position or move?

Looking for patterns can provide really helpful insight when you’re managing these things, even if you never totally figure it out on your own.

If something has been hanging around and you're not sure why, get in touch and tell me about it. 

I read every email, even the ones about your toaster.

Okay, that’s the Bill Nye science stuff done. 

Here’s the real life stuff and what I’m up to this very busy month behind the scenes.

For My Family: It’s colder. It’s dark. We need to not hibernate, so we’re sharpening our skates and setting our sights on the arena for the foreseeable future.

For Myself: Honestly, I’m just taking it easy. So for the rest of the month you’ll probably find me with my feet up reading the Dungeon Crawler series.

For My Practice: I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve been zooming around my treatment table a whole lot quicker lately. That’s because I finally got a new stool to replace my old one which was quite literally falling apart. It’s almost too smooth. 

And on that very exciting note…

May your toast stay golden and your alarms stay silent,

Katie Brierley, M.Ost., M.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons)

Osteopathic Manual Practitioner