The Science Behind Chronic Pain Recovery
Understanding how your brain creates pain — and how you can turn it off
A Revolutionary Discovery: Pain Lives in Your Brain
Here's what recent neuroscience research has proven: ALL pain is real — but not all pain comes from damaged tissue.
For decades, we've been taught that chronic pain must have a structural cause in the body. But groundbreaking research has revealed something remarkable: most chronic pain is actually generated by learned neural pathways in the brain, not by ongoing tissue damage.
Think of it like a smoke alarm that keeps going off even when there's no fire. Your brain created pain pathways to protect you from danger — but those pathways got stuck in the "on" position, continuing to send pain signals long after your body has healed.
The Research That Changes Everything
The Boulder Back Pain Study
Published in JAMA Psychiatry (2022)
Study participants: 151 people with chronic back pain
Average pain duration: 10 years
Results That Stunned the Medical Community:
66% of patients were pain-free or nearly pain-free after just 4 weeks of Pain Reprocessing Therapy
98% showed improvement in their pain levels
Results lasted at 1-year follow-up (52% still pain-free)
Results maintained at 5-year follow-up
What Brain Scans Revealed
fMRI brain imaging showed that after Pain Reprocessing Therapy, brain regions associated with pain processing had quieted significantly:
- •Anterior insula
- •Anterior midcingulate cortex
- •Other pain-processing networks
What This Means for You
"This isn't suggesting that your pain is not real or that it's 'all in your head.' What it means is that if the causes are in the brain, the solutions may be there, too."
— Dr. Tor Wager, Neuroscientist, Dartmouth College
Compare to Traditional Treatments
20% - Placebo injection group
10% - Usual care group
66% - Pain Reprocessing Therapy
What Causes Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain can get "stuck" in your body when neural circuits keep sending pain signals, even after your body is safe and healed. This happens for several reasons:
Learned Neural Pathways
Your brain created pain pathways when there was an injury, but didn't turn them off when you healed
Stress & Unprocessed Emotions
Chronic stress, trauma, and emotional pain can activate danger signals in your nervous system
Fear & Avoidance
Fear of movement and beliefs that your body is "broken" reinforce pain pathways
The Good News: Pain is Reversible
Just as your brain learned these pain patterns, it can unlearn them. This is called neuroplasticity — your brain's ability to change and rewire itself at any age.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy teaches your brain to turn off false danger signals and reinterpret sensations as safe — eliminating pain at its source.
Who Can Benefit from This Approach?
This approach has been proven effective for people with medically unexplained chronic pain and symptoms — conditions where tests show no structural damage but pain persists. If you've been to multiple doctors and are still suffering, you may benefit from this approach.
Signs Your Pain May Be Neuroplastic:
Pain began without a physical injury
Pain persists after an injury has healed (3+ months)
Medical tests show no structural cause
Pain spreads to different body areas over time
Pain varies with stress levels or emotions
Pain is worse at certain times of day
Pain decreases when distracted or on vacation
You have multiple chronic symptoms (IBS, migraines, etc.)
Even ONE of these criteria can indicate neuroplastic pain. If you have a diagnosis but your pain hasn't resolved, there's likely a neuroplastic component.
Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches
The biopsychosocial method is now taught to medical practitioners worldwide, including in Australia, the US, and the NHS in the UK. I've completed specialised training in the methods developed by Dr. Howard Schubiner, a pioneer in mind-body medicine.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
Retrains your brain to turn off pain signals by reinterpreting sensations as safe
Somatic Tracking
Learning to observe pain sensations with curiosity rather than fear
Graded Exposure Therapy
Gradually reintroducing feared movements to prove safety to your brain
Emotional Awareness & Expression Therapy (EAET)
Processing unresolved emotions that may be fueling pain
Pain Neuroscience Education
Understanding how your brain creates pain and why it's safe to move
Nervous System Regulation
Techniques to calm your fight-or-flight response and restore balance
Movement Re-training
Getting back to normal activities and exercise without fear
Mindfulness Practices
Building awareness of thought patterns that amplify pain
Clinical Hypnotherapy
Accessing subconscious patterns and rewiring pain responses
Important: Rule Out Structural Issues First
Before beginning this approach, please consult your doctor to rule out structural abnormality, disease, or infection. Once you've done that, take the self-assessment questionnaire to help determine whether this approach is right for you.
This treatment is designed for primary chronic pain — pain where no physical cause can be found, or where pain persists after an injury has healed.