A Simple Fix for Stubborn Pain? Understanding Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)

If you’ve struggled with chronic pain that won't go away—even after your body has supposedly "healed"—you are not alone. Traditional treatments often focus on the body, but a groundbreaking approach called Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) shifts the focus to the brain.

"False Alarm" Pain

Here is the simple idea behind PRT: while all pain is REAL and produced by the brain, sometimes the brain gets stuck in an overprotective habit. After an injury or long period of stress, the nervous system can become hypersensitive, sending out pain signals (a "false alarm") even when there is no actual damage or danger to your tissues.

Think of it like a smoke detector that keeps going off when you burn a piece of toast. It's doing its job, but it's too sensitive!

How PRT Retrains Your Brain

PRT uses psychological techniques to teach your brain to recognize that those body sensations are safe, not threatening. This process leverages neuroplasticity—the brain's incredible ability to change and form new pathways.

The therapy has three key components:

• Education: You learn how the brain creates and maintains chronic pain, helping you understand that the pain is a learned, reversible process.

• Somatic Tracking: This is a core tool. You practice observing your pain sensations with curiosity and calmness instead of fear or panic. This subtle shift teaches your brain to stop viewing the sensation as dangerous.

• Safety Reassurance: You gently return to movements and activities you’ve been avoiding, repeatedly showing your brain that these actions are safe.

Turning down the volume on pain

The Result: Turning Down the Volume

By repeatedly teaching your nervous system that it is safe, PRT helps to break the fear-pain cycle. As the perceived threat level drops, the brain has a chance to "turn down the volume" on the pain signals.

It's not about denying your pain; it's about helping your smart, but overzealous, brain learn a better way to protect you. PRT offers a profound path to lasting relief by tackling chronic pain at its source: the neural pathways in your mind.

In clinical trials for chronic back pain, a significant number of participants became pain-free or nearly pain-free after PRT, with results lasting long-term. In other studies, PRT was compared to other forms of therapy, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In these studies, patients treated with PRT improved more quickly and stayed out of pain longer than with other treatments.

For people living with chronic pain, Pain Reprocessing Therapy is bringing hope and is restoring people's lives. If you or someone you care about is living with chronic pain, schedule a complimentary call to see if PRT might be the tool you've been waiting for.