Understanding & Overcoming Neuroplastic Pain in Los Angeles

Did you know that much chronic pain isn’t caused by ongoing damage in your body, but by how your brain and nervous system have learned to process pain signals? This is called neuroplastic pain, often involving central sensitization. At Body and Mind Pain Center in Los Angeles, Dr. Zev Nevo helps patients understand this crucial concept, offering hope and evidence-based strategies to retrain the brain and find lasting relief.

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What is Neuroplastic Pain / Central Sensitization?

  • Neuroplasticity: Your brain constantly adapts. It can learn pain pathways, especially after injury or stress.
  • Central Sensitization: The central nervous system (brain/spinal cord) becomes hypersensitive, like a faulty alarm stuck “ON,” amplifying normal signals and interpreting them as painful.
  • The Result: You feel real pain, but its driver shifts from tissue damage to the nervous system itself. This underlies many chronic conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic low back/neck pain, IBS, some headaches/migraines, and chronic pelvic pain.

Key Concepts:

  • Pain is a Danger Signal: Your brain creates pain when it perceives threat (physical or emotional).
  • Learned Pathways: Pain circuits strengthen with repetition and fear.
  • The Brain Can Change: Neuroplasticity means these pathways can be unlearned and retrained.

Our Approach to Retraining the Brain:

Dr. Nevo utilizes therapies specifically designed to address neuroplastic pain and central sensitization, primarily through our Mind-Body Rehabilitation Program:

  • Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT): Directly teaches techniques like somatic tracking and safety reappraisal to help the brain reinterpret signals as safe.
  • Nervous System Regulation: Using tools like SSP and HeartMath to reduce the nervous system’s threat level and increase feelings of safety.
  • Addressing Contributing Factors: Utilizing OMT  to address persistent musculoskeletal inputs, and Functional Medicine to reduce systemic inflammation or other factors keeping the nervous system sensitized.
  • Education & Empowerment: Understanding pain neuroscience is a powerful tool for recovery.

Patient Empowerment & Goals:

Our goal is to empower you with the understanding and tools to reduce pain by changing brain processing, decrease fear of movement/sensation, regulate your nervous system, and regain control.

The Body and Mind Pain Center Difference:

Dr. Nevo provides specialized expertise in identifying and treating neuroplastic pain in Los Angeles, integrating cutting-edge therapies like PRT within a comprehensive medical and wellness framework. Our patient-centered, evidence-based, fiduciary care ensures a safe and effective path towards retraining your brain for relief.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I know if my pain is neuroplastic?

While assessment is needed, clues include pain persisting past normal healing times, spreading unpredictably, being triggered by stress or non-physical cues, inconsistency with imaging findings, and responding well to brain-focused therapies. Dr. Nevo helps evaluate this.

Does “neuroplastic” mean my pain isn’t real?

Absolutely not! Neuroplastic pain is 100% real physical pain. The term simply points to the primary source or driver being learned pathways and hypersensitivity in the brain and nervous system, rather than ongoing tissue damage.

What is the main goal of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)?

PRT’s  main goal is to help you consistently provide your brain with evidence that contradicts the danger message it associates with certain sensations. Through techniques like somatic tracking and safety reappraisal, you teach the brain that these sensations are actually safe, thereby deactivating the learned pain response.

How long does it take to retrain pain pathways?

It varies greatly. Some individuals experience shifts relatively quickly with dedicated practice, while for others it’s a more gradual process over weeks to months. Consistency, addressing fear, and managing overall nervous system state are key factors.

Can these techniques help even if I have a structural issue?

Yes. It’s very common for chronic pain, even when initiated by a structural issue (like arthritis or a disc bulge), to develop a neuroplastic component or central sensitization overlay. Addressing this nervous system hypersensitivity can significantly reduce overall pain and improve function, even if the structural finding remains.

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