Pain Reprocessing Therapy for Chronic Pain
Specialized Pain Neuroscience Physical Therapy
Most of us – patients and providers both – have traditionally believed that pain is due to a damaged or pathological tissue in the body. This theory states that if you have pain, it must be due to damage or irritation to a structure in the body. While this is very often true, some types of pain – and many types of chronic pain – are present even when tissue damage is not. When pain is present even when structural damage is not present, or when pain is greater than expected given the amount of structural damage, it is typically classified as neuroplastic pain or nervous system sensitization.
Pain that comes on without a specific cause, pain that is higher than one would expect given MRI or X-ray results, pain that starts after a stressful life event, and pain that lasts longer than an expected healing timeline are all possible examples of neuroplastic pain. A great deal of research has been conducted over the past 15 years showing that neuroplastic pain is absolutely real, absolutely not “just in your head” – and absolutely treatable.
Our program approaches pain from a whole-person perspective. We realize that pain is more than just a sensation and that fixing pain means more than just doing the standard “three sets of ten” physical therapy approach. Patients in our Pain Neuroscience Therapy program should expect education regarding what their pain means and does not mean, as well as work on breathing techniques, meditation, sleep hygiene, cardiovascular exercise, changing physical habits, implementing mental strategies, manual therapy, and traditional physical therapy exercises as indicated.
Pain related to a sensitized nervous system/neuroplasticity should be managed by a multifaceted approach. If your pain and symptoms are primarily due to nervous system dysfunction, then treatment should primarily focus on recalibrating the nervous system and retraining your brain.
If you feel you may have a sensitized nervous system or neuroplastic pain, please check out the links below for more information, and call to schedule an appointment with one of our Pain Neuroscience Therapy specialists today.
Links:
Information on neuroplastic pain (here referred to as “Mind Body Syndrome” from Dr. Howard Schubiner, MD:
Understanding Mind Body Syndrome
Information on neuroplastic pain from Alan Gordon, LCSW:
Neuroplastic Pain – Pain Reprocessing Therapy Institute
Information on Pain Science from SimpliFaster:
https://simplifaster.com/articles/why-most-people-are-wrong-about-injuries-and-pain/
Information on Pain Neuroscience Education from Adriaan Louw, PT, PhD: