I recently blogged about a client, Diane, who had Neuroplastic Pain (aka "pain brain").
Neuroplastic is the term we apply to pain that is not caused by structural or tissue damage. This is pain that is caused by a hot brain that misinterprets neutral or even safe signals as dangerous and creates pain to alert of this false danger.
The pain isn't all in your head. It's real.
But the danger-damage-problem is the brain.
So then, why does the brain misfire? What can we do about it?
Meet Frankie. Her story will illustrate how her brain lit up at an early age, making her more vulnerable to neuroplastic pain and other chronic conditions.
Read to the end for a quiz you can take to determine if your pain is neuroplastic.
The Client
Frankie is a 54-year-old, recently remarried, mother of two with neck pain that surfaced three months prior when walking her dog.
She said, "I turned my head weird and boop! There it was."
Her neck pain would grow like a 1950s horror movie monster to take over her whole back. And her entire life.
The Session
Frankie couldn't sit still through the session. She fidgeted. Stood. Sat down. Paced. Leaned against her forearms against the wall. Twisted. Rubbed her temples. Massaged her shoulders. She looked exhausted.
We talked. I listened.
Me: What helps?
Frankie: Laying down all the time.
Me: What makes it worse?
Frankie: Not laying down all the time.
She was already under the care of a cervical spine specialist and a physical therapist. She was making progress, though she making frequent visits to urgent care for prescription assistance. She was essentially living like a wounded animal (hiding/running, unable to rest or think clearly, fatigued, digestive upset, etc).
As we talked through her history with these episodes we had an AHA moment.
It was like magic. It changed everything.
She stopped fidgiting. She sat still. She looked me directly in the eyes. She breathed.
The Lightbulb
Here is what we learned:
She suffers some mysterious back/neck pain every year
It usually happens in the Spring
It usually lasts a few months no matter what she does to alleviate it
It is never the result of an acute injury. It always just "happens" like that "boop" when she was walking her dog.
And the pain usually passes after a specific holiday weekend.
The same holiday weekend where she experienced a significant trauma as a child.
She had been molested by a family friend over this particular holiday weekend when she wasn't yet 10 years old.
She never told anyone. She feared she wouldn't be believed, that she would somehow be blamed, or worse: that nobody would really even care.
Frankie had done a lot of work around that trauma, or so she thought. That ammunition still lived deep inside her.
It only took the sights and smells of approaching Spring to pull the trigger and ignite this ammunition. Click. BANG! Pain.
School of Pain
Childhood adversity significantly increases the likelihood that you will develop neuroplastic symptoms over the course of your life. This is because feeling even a little unsafe over a long period of time changes the way the brain forms and functions.
It's a survival tactic!
It's like the volume inside your brain was turned way up to protect you. After a long time at high volume, the nervous system gets over-sensitized and the brain starts interpreting any noise as danger. Even the safe noises. Even the neutral noises.
The body reacts by contracting. And then the pain.
The Hope is in the Fear
I already mentioned how Frankie's entire demeanor changed when we made the connection between her pain and her history of childhood adversity.
For the first time in her history with this pain, she understood its roots. She suddenly wasn't so afraid of this mysterious enemy inside her.
Her pain decreased magically and quite quickly!
Here is the formula for understanding the pain/fear relationship. Within this equation is the clue to managing or even eliminating pain and other symptoms.
This is the equation we use at Duke Yoga Therapy for Cancer School.
Total suffering = actual pain X resistance to pain
Compare that to the equation we use at Pain Reprocessing Therapy School:
Total suffering = actual pain X fear
The hope for living pain-free lies in addressing the fear.
There are so very many roads you can take to address your own pain/fear cycle.
In Frankie's case, she has adopted several daily self-care routines such as her very own personalized asana and pranayama practices.
More importantly, Frankie has truly embraced a quest to develop a more
compassionate, loving relationship with herself and her world as she seeks a better understanding of inter-generational trauma.
Frankie is developing a compassionate and even grateful attitude toward her pain because her pain reminds her that there are deeper layers of connection and healing available to her.
She learned that there is "wisdom in her wounds".
More Good News
As a happy by-product, when we address the fear we take care of a lot of other symptoms that are fear-based such as ANXIETY, SHAKING, DRY MOUTH, DIGESTIVE TROUBLES, IBS, MIGRAINES/HEADACHES, FOG BRAIN, HUNGER/HANGER/BLOOD SUGAR and more.
This will be the topic of my next blog on Neuroplastic Symptoms. Stay tuned!
Is My Pain Neuroplastic?
Here is a set of standard questions that can help you determine if your pain is largely, or in part, neuroplastic.
Did your pain start as a result of injury? If your pain does not seem to come from any injury, or if it started several days after a possible injury, you might have neuroplastic pain. Sometimes, even if pain begins with an injury, if it persists after the injury has healed, it’s likely neuroplastic.
Symptoms Begin During Times of Stress: Stress puts the brain on high alert and can trigger pain.
Symptoms Are Inconsistent/Vary: When there is variation in symptom location and/or intensity, it is more likely to be neuroplastic.
Symptoms are Unexplainable by Known Structural Conditions: If doctors are unable to find any clear cause for the pain, that’s a strong indicator that it’s neuroplastic. Even with a diagnosis, the pain could still be neuroplastic.
Symptoms Triggered by Factors Unrelated to the Body: For instance, pain is triggered during times of stress or decreases when engaged in enjoyable activities. Pain linked to neutral stimuli like activities, smells, sounds, light, the time of day, weather, or physical positions is likely neuroplastic.
History of Childhood Adversity: Trauma in childhood, such as abuse or neglect, can predispose individuals to chronic pain as adults. Even less severe childhood stressors can contribute to neuroplastic pain. Take the quiz to find out your Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Score.
Presence of Common Personality Traits: Certain traits like perfectionism, conscientiousness, people-pleasing, and anxiety can put the brain on high alert, leading to chronic pain.
Family History of Chronic Pain: Growing up with family members who have chronic pain conditions can model these behaviors and lead to shared psychological and neurobiological vulnerabilities.
More Resources
Emotional Inheritance: A Therapist, Her Patients, and the Legacy of Trauma, Galit Atlas
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, Bruce Perry, Oprah Winfrey
Samantha is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, a Noom Certified Health Coach, and founder of Davidson Yoga Therapy and Health Coaching.
She has held complimentary healthcare positions at The Blanchard Institute, Atrium
Hospital, Levine Cancer Institute, Sanger Heart Clinic, and Davidson College. She has presented for Fortune 500 companies and major Universities, both public and professional audiences, on this thing called yoga therapy and what it can do when it is unpeeled, revealed, and adapted to meet the needs and the abilities of the person doing it.
She leverages her three decades of yoga therapy, and health coaching experience with the following therapeutic models:
Jungian Psychology
Interfaith Perspectives
Spiritual Technologies
Trauma Healing
Polyvagal Somatics
Compassionate Inquiry
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
The Neurosequential Model
Internal Family Systems
All this is to say, there are many doorways to use on the path to healing and self-discovery, and Samantha’s breadth of experience allows for vast creativity on which approach is right for you!
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