Pain can continue long after the body has healed because pain is not produced by the injured body part alone. It is ultimately created by the brain in response to information from the body, past experiences, perceived danger and the nervous system’s assessment of threat. For some people with chronic pain, extensive testing finds no structural explanation for the severity or persistence of their symptoms. For others, a physical condition exists, but the intensity of the pain is greater than the tissue damage alone would predict.
This is where the growing understanding of neuroplastic pain and mind body disorders becomes important. The brain can learn pain just as it learns other protective responses. Chronic back pain, neck pain, headaches, migraines, pelvic pain, fibromyalgia symptoms and other persistent physical symptoms can sometimes involve a nervous system that has become highly sensitized to perceived danger. The pain is real, but the mechanism maintaining it may be different from an ongoing injury.
Hypnosis for chronic pain works with the brain and nervous system rather than simply trying to distract you from discomfort. I incorporate principles from Pain and Symptom Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Hypnosis helps clients change fear-based associations with physical sensations, reduce the brain’s perception of threat and develop new responses to sensations that have become linked with danger.
Mind body disorders can also involve symptoms beyond pain. Some people experience persistent muscle tension, digestive symptoms, fatigue or other physical sensations that become worse during periods of stress or emotional strain. Recognizing a mind body component does not mean the symptoms are imaginary or “all in your head.” It means the brain, nervous system and body are interacting in ways that can potentially be changed.
Chronic pain should always be medically evaluated to identify or rule out structural disease, injury or other conditions requiring medical care. When symptoms persist after healing, move from one area of the body to another, fluctuate significantly, or become stronger during periods of stress, the nervous system may be playing a role in keeping the pain response active. Hypnosis, Pain Reprocessing Therapy and mind body approaches can help retrain the brain’s response to these sensations, reducing the fear and perceived danger that can reinforce chronic pain.