Pain Reprocessing Therapy

Pain can come about in several ways – the most common is an injury. It’s nature’s way of keeping you safe: when you stick your hand in a fire, it hurts – so you don’t do it again.

Sometimes, it is not injury but a medical condition that causes pain – a heart attack or inflamed nerve. Either way, pain alerts you to a problem that needs attention. It is essential for your survival.

However… Pain is supposed to disappear once the injury/condition heals.  But what if it doesn’t?

When pain persists, it is labeled “chronic pain.” And more and more people are suffering from it.  Research has revealed that the majority of chronic pain is what is called neuroplastic pain meaning, in essence, that the brain is generating the pain by mistake.

So how can you determine if your pain is neuroplastic or structural?

You can collect evidence of a neuroplastic diagnosis if you are able to answer “yes” to the majority of the following:

• Did your pain begin during a time of stress?
• Did your pain originate without injury?
• Are your symptoms inconsistent?
• Do your symptoms spread/move around your body?
• Do you have a large number of symptoms?
• Are your symptoms triggered by stress?
• Do you have triggers that have nothing to do with your body (weather, sounds, smells, time of day)?
• Do you have symmetrical symptoms (same part of body on both sides)?
• Does your pain have a delayed start after movement/exercise?
• Have you experienced childhood adversity/trauma?
• Are you perfectionistic, conscientious, a people pleaser, or highly anxious?
• Do you lack a physical diagnosis?

You always want to check with your medical provider to ensure that your pain is not caused by a physical issue or disease (note that even if it is, PRT can often be helpful in reducing the extent of the pain). You can also consult a physician trained in PRT to assess for neuroplastic (brain-generated) versus structural pain. If your symptoms are determined to be neuroplastic, you have options with PRT!

Still not convinced that pain is generated in the brain? Let me tell you a story…

A construction worker was walking through a building site when he stepped on a nail that went into the sole through the top of his boot. He immediately cried out in pain and was rushed to the hospital.

He was in so much pain that the EMTs in the ambulance gave him multiple doses of pain medication—to no avail.

When he finally arrived at the ER and the doctors managed to remove his boot it turned out that the nail hadn’t gone through his foot at all, but had, instead miraculously penetrated the boot right between his toes.

So what happened?  How was it that the construction worker was in so much pain?

Let’s start with an explanation of how pain works…
We’ve already covered the fact that pain is necessary and protective (think hand in fire).  But sometimes, as a result of the pain from an injury or condition, the brain ends up anticipating pain.  In effect, your brain goes into a state of high alert, of hypervigilance.

When this happens, your brain starts to perceive all sorts of bodily sensations as dangerous and can misinterpret them as painful.

So are you saying that my pain isn’t real?

No! The construction worker’s pain was very, very real—it was excruciating—but it was brought on by the brain’s perception of danger rather than an actual physical injury.

While this is an extreme example, the same thing can happen with other injuries—or sometimes, no injury at all!

The pain is actually a brain problem rather than a physical/structural issue.

If you’ve been dealing with your pain for a while, you’ve likely gone to countless doctors, specialists, and healers, each one with a different diagnosis and thus a different “cure.” But nothing seems to work long term to get rid of the pain completely.

Without any concrete answers, you are left anxious, frustrated, and at the mercy of your body.

Your pain is very real…

And, so is the possibility that what you’re experiencing is the brain’s misinterpretation of your physical sensations and perceptions. This is what happened to the construction worker from earlier; he experienced neuroplastic pain.

PRT can not only address symptoms associated with this kind of pain, but also help shift the brain’s perceptions and thus reduce (or even eliminate) your pain.

When you’re ready to see whether Pain Reprocessing Therapy can free you from chronic pain, call or email to schedule.