Lingering injuries, 
Chronic 

Pain 
and
the Brain


What 'neuroplastic pain' is
and why knowing about it will change your life

Cutting-edge science is highlighting how the human brain plays a key role in the generation and perpetuation of lingering injuries and chronic symptoms.


What is Acute Pain?

Let's make a distinction between 'acute' pain and 'chronic' pain. 

Acute pain is a sudden and temporary pain often related to an injury or illness. is Let's say you sprain your ankle playing basketball. Nerves in your ankle will send electrical impulses to your brain telling it there's something wrong. Neurons in your brain receive these signals and cause you to feel pain to protect you - i.e. to keep you from injuring it further.  

Acute pain can arise if you:

  • Break a bone 
  • Have an infection   
  • Have a tumor  
  • Suffer blunt trauma  
  • Burn or cut your skin, etc. 



What about Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is when pain signals continue to fire regardless of whether an injury is present.

Here are some markers for chronic pain (Source: Cleveland Clinic)

  • Chronic pain is pain that lasts for over four months.
  • The pain can be there all the time, or it may come and go.
  • It can happen anywhere in your body
  • Continues long after you recover from an injury/illness OR 
  • Can happen for no obvious reason 
  • Can prevent you from doing hobbies or basic tasks 

You may meet the definition of 'chronic pain' even if you don't consider yourself to have 'chronic pain' 

Chronic Pain is a Global Crisis! 

If this is you - you're not alone.

100 million adults in the US alone suffer from chronic pain. That's almost 50% of American adults. Chronic pain affects 1.5 billion people globally.

In the U.S., chronic pain affects more people and has a greater economic cost than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined. The cost of chronic pain in the US has increased 1035% in the past 25 years.  

And unfortunately, reputable science shows that conventional treatments to chronic pain provide little help.

  • Pain Medication: there is "little or no evidence that [pain medication] makes any difference to people's quality of life, pain, or psychological distress." - UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
  • Physical Treatments: "Overall, currently available treatments provide modest improvements in pain and minimum improvements in physical and emotional functioning" - The Lancet
  • Surgery: "Surgery has been found to be helpful in only 1 in 100 cases of low back problems. In some people, surgery can even cause more problems" - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

There is of course a place for each of these therapies.

But when it comes to long-term, persistent pain or lingering injuries, there is little evidence to support the efficacy of these treatments.

That's because most remedies aim to treat chronic pain as a root cause​​​​ when it's really only a symptom of something deeper.

What actually causes chronic pain?

We often believe that pain is a 'bottom-up' phenomenon.

For example, you cut your hand, and your hand generates pain.  Actually, it's not that simple.

While nerves in your hand will send messages to the brain, it is the brain that decides whether or not to generate pain.  

And the brain can decide not to generate pain based on what's best for your own survival (e.g. if you break your ankle running from a bear, your brain is much less likely to generate pain because the bigger threat to your survival isn't your ankle - it's the bear).

But the brain can also decide to generate pain based on innocuous stimuli that it perceives to be threatening. 

It turns out that with acute pain (caused by a structural issue - e.g. a bone fracture), there is more activity in the bodily-sensing areas of the brain. But if your pain persists long enough, the brain regions that are active in the creation of pain start to change.

The overwhelming science shows that as pain moves from the 'acute' phase to the 'chronic' phase, the regions in the brain that become active are the ones responsible for learning, memory, & emotion. (The Way Out - Alan Gordon)

This brain process allows pain to perpetuate even when the underlying issue has healed - or in the absence of any injury at all. 

In other words - your brain learns to be in pain over time - the same way you learn how to ride a bike or how to drive a car. 


The brain can get stuck in pain because of:

  • Painful events - Traumatic events create real, physical changes in the brain. This is especially true if the person has received little to no support at the time of trauma. Even more so if the trauma occurred in childhood (known as ACEs, or Adverse Childhood Experiences). 
  • Fear of the pain itself - Fear activates brain regions that are linked to the generation of pain signals. Fear can be the fuel for the chronic pain cycle.
  • Expectation of pain - Anticipating pain after specific movements or activities initiates a conditioning process. Based on previous memory, experience, or beliefs, the brain can re-activate pain signals even in the absence of injury. 
  • Perceived threats - These include painful or stressful situations that cause the individual to be in a high state of tension for long periods of time (e.g. being in a long-term abusive relationship, living in fear, under pressure or worry for long periods of time).

What is Neuroplastic Pain?

We believe in the science that demonstrates that the vast majority of chronic pain is neuroplastic - i.e. generated by the brain. 

This is the case if there is no identifiable injury or underlying illness, or if there was an injury that has exceeded the normal healing timeline.

Dr. John Sarno, who popularized the mindbody connection as it relates to chronic pain, called neuroplastic pain Tension Myositis Syndrome, and later adapted to Tension Myoneural Syndrome. It has also been referred to as PPD, Psychophysiologic Disorder, or The MindBody Syndrome. 

All of these terms are interchangeable and describe the same thing: symptoms generated by the brain.

Very few medical professionals and specialists know how to identify and address neuroplastic pain, despite overwhelming medical research and a growing cadre of doctors and medical professionals who are getting the word out.

Unfortunately, even though over 1 billion people worldwide are affected by chronic pain, medical doctors spend an average of only 11 hours learning about pain in Medical School (Gordon, The Way Out, 160). 

Instead, the focus remains on treating the symptoms in isolation, and on 'managing' the pain through physical therapy, exercise, drugs or other pain relief techniques, which have been proven to be largely ineffective (see above).

The good news - proven chronic pain treatments exist, they outperform conventional treatments without invasive measures, and can result in symptom elimination.

"Chronic pain is surpisingly treatable - when patients focus on the brain."  - Washington Post, October 15, 2021

How do I treat neuroplastic pain / TMS?

Neuroplastic pain is a brain-generated process that is fully reversible.  It involves getting the brain to unlearn the pain.

This involves reducing the fuel for the process itself: fear.

Fear can come in many forms - fear that your body is broken (beliefs), fear of movement (body), fear of 'unthinkable thoughts' or 'unfeelable feelings' that you've been burying away for years.

There are various techniques used to facilitate the process of unlearning symptoms.

A disregulated nervous system plagued by chronic stress requires a shift towards more peace and balance. Beliefs that the body is broken need to be challenged, and feared movements need to gradually stop being avoided. Negative emotions that have accumulated over time may need to be explored and acknowledged.

We agree with Dr John Sarno that the best cure is 'education'. Knowing and understanding what's going on in one's brain, mind, and body can initiate relief and a radical shift in perspective, and this in itself will initiate a brain rewiring process. This typically paves the way for relaxation and for regaining trust in one's body.

The science backs this up. In a 2022 study at the University of Colorado at Boulder, two thirds (66%) of chronic back pain sufferers were pain free or nearly so after just four weeks of a brain-focused healing program. These people had been in pain for an average of nine years! The more that participants reattributed their pain from injury to brain processes, stress, and fear, the more they saw their symptoms decrease.

Healing often involves a radical change in beliefs, perspective and identity. However, it doesn't need to be complicated!  

Healing neuroplastic pain  requires a good amount of consistent application in a supportive environment to unlearn certain unhelpful beliefs and habits.

Challenging 'MYTHS' of chronic pain 

FACT: Pain can be present without physical abnormalities.

In a recent study of back and neck pain sufferers, 98% had a ‘structural abnormality’ that showed up on an MRI. However, in only 5% of cases was that abnormality purely responsible for the pain. And 88% of cases, it was entirely the brain!  

In a study done by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2001, more than half of patients seen by specialist doctors (cardiology, neurology, gynecology, etc.) had symptoms that defied physical explanation. Meaning there was no physical explanation for the pain! 

FACT: Physical abnormalities can be present without pain.

Consider these surprising stats from competitive/pro athletes who push their bodies constantly:

Rotator Cuff: 40% of collegiate baseball and pro tennis players have partial or full tears of their rotator cuff in their dominant arms - but no pain. None of the athletes interviewed 5 years later had any subjective symptoms or had required any evaluation or treatment for shoulder-related problems during the study period.

Knees: 50% of asymptomatic Pro NBA players have lesions on their knees and they were pain-free.

Hips: Two-thirds of collegiate and pro hockey players have degenerative changes in their hips and have no symptoms.

Shoulder: 80% of elite level rock climbers without shoulder symptoms have shoulder abnormalities.

FACT: Rates of some chronic pain conditions actually level off with age. 

The proportion of the population that has back or neck pain does not rise linearly with age. It rises from the 20s to the 50s, and then levels off.

This is despite the fact that 'abnormalities' on MRIs rise with age.

If chronic pain (e.g. back or neck) were due to 'wear and tear' from getting older, then rates would continue to go up with age.

FACT: Emerging treatments that change the brain's neuroplasticity work extremely well, and have helped and healed tens of thousands, including us and our clients. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We’ve developed a free, unique and personalized assessment that will help you rule-in neuroplastic symptoms.

Within 5 minutes, it’ll reduce fear, unlock hope, and expose you to a new brain-focused way of healing that you probably haven’t encountered before.

Note: You need to see your doctor first in order to rule out any serious medical conditions (fractures, infections, tumors, etc.) that require essential treatment BEFORE embarking on this path.

If you have had all the tests and found no reason for your symptoms OR, if your symptoms were blamed on a structural condition but you have found no effective treatment for it, then it is likely that your pain is brain-generated. Our assessment will help you.

Heck no.

Your pain is real, just as all pain is real. You're NOT weak, sick, crazy, imagining this pain, or consciously deciding for it to happen! 

All pain is created in the brain, either in the immediate response to a physical injury, or in the case of chronic pain, because of over-active neural circuits in the brain. It is not your fault.

The great news is that brain-generated pain is learned, which means it can also be unlearned. 

So were we, and so were almost all of our clients. This is a common thing that doctors tell people. And while we need to be careful - we encourage you to look at the facts.  Most structural 'problems' are 'incidental findings', which means that they actually have nothing to do with symptoms themselves. There is a trove of medical evidence that backs this up.

While it’s important to get a physical examination to rule out fractures, tumors, infections, etc., blaming chronic pain on a structural abnormality is often like blaming migraines on grey hairs.

In fact, in a recent study of back pain sufferers, 98% had a spinal 'abnormality' on their MRI, but only in 12% of cases were these abnormalities actually causing the pain! The other 88% of sufferers had pain caused by neural circuits.

Consider also that 30% of 20-somethings without any back pain have herniated discs. 84% of 80-somethings without any back pain have herniated discs! 

We know that genetics can play an (often small) role in certain chronic pain conditions. However, these are predisposing factors - they do not cause the symptom onset.

Symptom onset occurs when those genes are activated or triggered, generally through fear, anxiety, chronic stress, or injury. It's far more likely for the child of a back pain sufferer to have back pain NOT because of genetic predisposition, but because the exposure to a trusted figure with pain conditions predisposes the child to adopt very specific beliefs (e.g. the back is "weak" or certain physical activities are dangerous).

This conditioning (based on very strong expectations) is 'priming the pump' for pain to occur later in life.

We also know that although genetic evolution can take thousands of years, we can alter gene expression in a short amount of time; genes that are activated can be deactivated. And chronic symptoms are often reversible because the neural-circuits causing pain can be deactivated. 

You had a bad injury years ago - but it may not be why you still have pain TODAY. Accidents and injuries occur. However, the human body has an incredible ability to heal - from broken bones, ligament tears, etc.

Consider that the biggest bone in the body, the femur, can heal - and actually become stronger than before the fracture - in just 8 weeks!

What often happens is an injury can transition from being 'acute' to 'chronic' through fear, worry, and the activation of neural circuits.

If we took an MRI of your brain right after your accident, it would show pain in the brain regions associated with bodily feeling. However, after a certain number of weeks, when pain persists, other brain regions light up - ones associated with emotions, learning, and memory! The pain then becomes learned - like a bad habit.

Here's an interesting fact: despite an average number of car accidents, whiplash doesn't exist in Lithuania. Studies have also found that neck pain can be generated by a simulated car accident - just because the person's brain is 'fooled' into thinking it's been damaged!

Pain is often not due to ongoing injury from an accident that happened years ago, but neural circuits driven by fear, anxiety, and worry. And these neural circuits can be turned off, no matter how long you've been in pain.

This is very common. In the case of chronic pain, these areas of muscle tension are generally caused by a build up of emotional tension. They are a symptom of pain, rather than the primary cause of pain.

Just think about this: if you're stressed and tense, then the body is going to tense up. This is a normal response that equips us to deal with emergency and high pressure situations. However, when stress becomes chronic, and we're unable to relax our nervous system, we keep holding onto this tension.

As the nervous system is calmed through neural circuit retraining, these areas of muscle tightness go away, along with the pain. 

This is also very common. Many people have pain or symptoms that are generated by movement, activity, weather, heat, cold, light, sound, certain people, foods, or pressures. In each case, these are triggers - not causes of chronic pain.

Like Pavlov, who taught his dogs to salivate by ringing a bell without food, your brain learns to associate symptoms with these activities. This is conditioned, and can be unlearned. These triggers also generate symptoms outside of our conscious awareness.

Research shows that most decisions are made subconsciously, and we make subconscious associations all the time. Consider that you are more likely to rate someone's behavior as disagreeable if you are exposed to a strong smell, and you're more likely to say someone is likable if you're holding a warm cup of liquid.

In the same way, you don't need to be consciously aware of these triggers (e.g. that the weather has changed or that you've moved in a certain way) in order to experience conditioned neuroplastic pain. 

There is HOPE - AND HELP - for neuroplastic pain!


Whether it's back, neck, knee, shoulder, hip pain, fibromyalgia, runner's knee, IBS, migraines, herniated discs, bulging discs, chronic fatigue, or so much more - healing is possible. 

That's why we built the Pain Free Comeback Program.

It's a unique program built for athletes and active people to help them return to their favorite activities, trust their body, and feel like themselves again by eliminating their pain. 

Check out more information about our unique program by clicking the link below.