The word ‘neuroplastic’ means ‘learned by the nervous system’. Neuroplastic pain is pain that originates from the nervous system, which sets it apart from ‘structural pain’ that originates from something structural that is causing pain in your body such as a broken bone, torn muscle etc.  

Neuroplastic pain (or other symptoms such as anxiety, allergies or sleep disorders) becomes chronic when a feedback loop is created between the symptom and the response to it, think putting a microphone in front of a speaker.

The nervous system is a complex network of nerve tissue in the body. It includes the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), the peripheral nervous system (nerves extending from the spinal cord to the rest of the body), and other nerve tissues.

The truth is, we know surprisingly little about the nervous system. We can see it, track electrical signals, and observe brain activity in scanners, but much of its functioning remains a mystery. This limited understanding makes the study of the brain and nervous system incredibly exciting, hinting at untapped possibilities and implications as we learn more. 

Pain Reprocessing Therapy embodies a new approach to health. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms, using drugs, surgeries, or exercises to counteract them, PRT addresses the state of the nervous system, embracing the concept of innate health. This involves supporting the nervous system to regulate the body's systems, whether it's desensitising pain responses, improving sleep cycles, reducing anxiety, or adapting to allergens like peanuts, mould, or electromagnetic signals.

There isn’t a simple answer to this question. No pain is fake; you genuinely feel what you feel, regardless of its origin. Most people think that their pain accurately reflects what's happening in their body, but this isn't always the case. The brain can misinterpret information. For example, you might see a stick on the ground and mistake it for a snake. Your body reacts with adrenaline, muscle tension, and heightened sensory perception. When you realise it's just a stick, your body calms down. Here, your subconscious brain misread the situation, but your rational mind corrected it.

Similarly, sometimes your brain doesn't immediately recognise an injury. You might cut yourself and not feel much pain until you see the injury. The sight of blood is a cue for your nervous system to reinterpret the sensory input as pain, a warning that prompts you to take action.

Pain is not a true sensation; it's the brain's interpretation of sensory input as a threat. When the brain interprets something as dangerous, it amplifies the signal (amplification), and triggers pain receptors to generate our experience of pain. 

So, when you have neuroplastic pain, you're feeling real sensations, like muscle tightness, that the brain has amplified and misinterpreted as an injury. The sensations are real, but misleading or exaggerated. For example, your nervous system might be responding to a tight muscle as if it was torn.

To understand amplification, think about how constant sounds fade into the background, like ocean waves, city traffic, or birdsong. If they are constantly present, your brain deems these sounds safe and turns down the volume. Conversely, if you hear something that is interpreted as dangerous, such as if you're in a dark alley and hear a footstep behind you, your brain amplifies the sound, making it seem much louder and more alarming.

Firstly, I want to clarify that I do not claim to know more than a medical doctor. Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) should never replace medical advice. However, there is often a delay between new medical discoveries and their application in practice. Most doctors in the UK might not be familiar with PRT or neuroplastic pain, and they are unlikely to have been trained to diagnose or treat it.

When you experience pain and your doctor sees a structural abnormality on an X-ray, they might suggest it as the cause of your pain. While some doctors may acknowledge that there isn’t always a clear correlation between structural issues like bulging disks, degenerated disks, or scoliosis and back pain, others might not.

Even if you're aware that many people have these conditions without pain, you might still attribute your pain to these diagnoses because they seems like a reasonable explanation, or perhaps the only explanation available. 

The reality is that bulging disks are very common and often symptomless. A systematic review by Brinjikji and colleagues in 2014 found that many asymptomatic people (those without symptoms) had disc problems. For example, 30% of 20-year-olds had disc bulges without pain, and this increased to over 60% for 50-year-olds, who also had no symptoms. Additionally, many patients with severe lower back pain show no acute tissue damage on MRI.

Disk degeneration is even more common, with about 30% of people showing signs by age 35 and 90% by age 60. As for scoliosis, 23% of people with it report back pain at diagnosis, which raises the question: why do 77% not have pain if scoliosis is a direct cause of back pain?

In summary, while structural abnormalities like bulging disks, scoliosis, and degenerated disks are commonly identified on X-rays, they do not always correlate with pain. Most people with these conditions experience no pain at all. This highlights the importance of considering neuroplastic pain as a significant factor in chronic pain conditions. Therefore, while medical advice should always be heeded, exploring other potential causes and treatments for pain can also be beneficial.

The term "Pain" in Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) can be misleading because PRT is not limited to treating pain. PRT focuses on retraining the nervous system's responses. Chronic pain is often rooted in anxiety, where the nervous system misinterprets harmless signals as threats. This same anxiety-based dysregulation can lead to sleep disorders, chronic fatigue, and the experience of anxiety itself. By addressing the underlying sense of being unsafe PRT can support the system to regulate, so alleviating these conditions.

Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is designed to treat neuroplastic pain, which is pain caused by the brain's misinterpretation of signals. However, PRT cannot treat structural pain, which is pain resulting from physical causes such as injuries or tumours.

Structural pain is typically predictable and occurs within the healing time of a known injury. It does not move around the body, come and go, or flare up during stressful periods. If your pain is consistent with these characteristics, it is likely structural and not suitable for PRT treatment.

PRT is predominantly educational, with a therapeutic element. There are 5 steps to the process:

1) Education about the brain origins and reversibility of pain

2) Gathering and reinforcing personalised evidence for the brain origins and reversibility of pain

3) Attending to and appraising pain sensations through a lens of safety

4) Addressing other emotional threats 

5) Gravitating to positive feelings and sensations

Working with PRT is not a passive process. If you are searching for someone to give you a pill, wave a magic wand, or otherwise ‘fix you’ then PRT probably isn’t for you. The majority of the process will be in your practice of the tools in between sessions. Do not be daunted by this though, as the practices can be deeply rewarding, and as your symptoms change and lessen the process becomes even more exciting and joyful.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict how long the process will take as it will depend on how quickly you are able to progress through the stages and your commitment to practicing the tools. Some people see results after the first couple of sessions and others require more time.

In the Boulder Back Pain Study, participants attended eight sessions, and 66% were pain-free or nearly pain-free by the end of the study which included 8 PRT sessions. While some individuals achieve faster results, others may require more time to experience significant relief.