The Surprising New Science Behind Chronic Pain
Pain is a danger signal⚡. It’s designed to protect us from further damage—to make us remove our hand from something hot, to stop us walking on an injured ankle, to make sure we take time to let injuries heal.
But we now know from the latest research that most forms of chronic pain are not caused by physical problems in the body, but rather learned neural pathways in the brain.
All pain is real and all pain is processed in the brain, but these pain circuits can become ‘stuck’ and can misfire—sending pain signals even when they are not required.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is a system of techniques rooted in neuroscience that are designed to reduce or, in some cases, even eliminate chronic pain or symptoms.
In the Boulder Back Pain study at the University of Colorado (Ashar et al, 2022), 150 back pain patients (suffering with chronic back pain for an average of 9 years) were randomly assigned to the following treatment groups:
◾ 50 patients received 8 sessions of PRT (Pain Reprocessing Therapy)
◾ 50 patients were given an open-label placebo injection (no medicine)
◾ 50 patients were the control group (usual care; no additional treatment)
98% of the PRT group improved. 66% of those who received PRT were *pain free or nearly pain free* by the end of treatment and this was largely maintained at follow up *one year later*.
‘Pain free or nearly pain free’ means that participants reported a pain intensity score of 0 or 1 of 10. Think about the difference that would make for a moment…
What does Pain Reprocessing Therapy Involve?
PRT is a type of talking therapy which takes a holistic approach and involves:
🧠 Education about the latest pain science and neuroplastic pain
🧠 Retraining the brain and body to respond differently to pain
🧠 Addressing thoughts and emotions, such as fear and frustration, which fuel the pain
PRT offers a paradigm shift in evidence-based treatment for chronic pain. If you or someone you know is dealing with daily pain or symptoms, please feel free to get in touch to discuss how I could support you.
#chronicpain #PRT #neuroplasticpain
References:
Ashar et al ‘Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial’ JAMA Psychiatry, 2022.
