Retrain Your Brain to Treat Chronic Pain
Recent studies have shown that certain chronic pain conditions, like some chronic back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia are NOT the result of STRUCTURAL OR ANATOMICAL INJURIES. This is actually true for many long standing painful conditions. This type of pain is called “Neuroplastic pain or nerocircuit pain”.
Pain is a danger signal. Normally, when we injure oursleves, the body sends signals to the brain informing us of tissue damage, as we feel pain. In chronic pain, sometimes the brain persists sending this information to the brain, even after healing. Neuroplastic pain results form the brain misinterpreting safe messaags form the body as if they were dangerous. This pain is a “ase alarm”.
This pain is quite treatable by retraining your brain, and reminding your brain of how normal stimulatons are supposed to feel. Part of this treatment includes psychological and mental exercises.
Though the pain can be addressed psychologically, this does not imply that the pain is “ in your head”. The pain is quite real, and result on an overuse pathway in the brain. It is like a persistent bad memory.
The good news is that we can unlearn this pain pathways.
Pain Reprocesing therapy (PRT) is a system of psychological techniques that retrains the brain to interpret and respond to signals for the body properly, subsequently, breaking the cycle of chronic apin.
It has 5 components :
Education about the brain origins and reversibility of pain
Gathering and reinforcing personalized evidence for the brian origins and reversibility of pain
Attending to an appraising pain sensation through a lens of safety.
Addresing other emotional threats
Gravitating to positive feelings.
A randomized controlled study at the University of Colorado validated PRT as the most effective current treatment for chronic pain. In the study, published in2021, there were 100 chronic back pain patients. Half of them received PRT twice a week for four weeks and half of them received treatment as usual. In the PRT group, 98% of patients improved and 66% of patients were pain free or near pain free at the end of the treatment. These outcomes were largely maintained one year later. To read the article, click here.
Howard Schubiner, MD and Allan Gordon (LCSW) are the intellectual authors of this study. They are pioneers on the field. We are proud to have been mentored by them in the last 2 years. Seeing them in action has been inspirational. Link bellow for a demonstration videos:
Unlearning Pain with Pain Reprocessing Therapy — Demonstration by Alan Gordon LCSW
Dr. Annie Pinto (Pain Medicine Specialist) is registered as a provider of this therapy in Bermuda at Bermuda Pain Relief Center.
Our team, including our physiotherapist and Mrs Janice Amaral (Mental Health counselor) are fully trained in RPT. Our multidisciplinary team will provide your with the tools that you need to unlearn your pain, and give yourself the opportunity to freely move again.
If you have pain that has lasted for over 6 months, if your pain changes with the weather, or if your pain is never in the same location. If you have good days and bad days, you may benefit from PRT. Please contact us for further inquires.
Check the following videos to understand your pain, and how to treat it: