New research in neuroscience shows a strong link between your brain’s adaptability and your perception of physical or emotional pain. This ability of the brain to change and adapt is called neuroplasticity. Everyone experiences beneficial neuroplasticity every day, where our nervous system learns and adapts. Cycling, driving home or even brushing your teeth are some examples of useful neuroplasticity. Your brain adapts to routine things, which allows the nervous system to free up the brain so it’s available to perform other tasks. Unfortunately, there is also a downside to neuroplasticity, and persistent pain is a good example of this. In this situation, neuroplasticity makes the brain and nervous system ultrasensitive and hyperactive to otherwise normal sensations and activities. Normal daily tasks become painful, even though they shouldn’t be. Certain triggers, such as psychological or physical stress, can often cause this unwanted neuroplasticity, which can lead to persistent pain.
There are two types of pain: peripheral pain and centralized pain. Peripheral pain is an aching pain that you feel locally, and centralized pain is a more complicated type of pain that is facilitated by the brain and spinal cord. When experiencing peripheral pain (such as stubbing your toe), the brain produces alarm signals that warn us of damage to our body. This is a useful alarm designed to protect us even when it is painful and becomes important. For example, if you touch a hot stove, your brain remembers that it is going to hurt. However, in people with persistent or chronic pain, the brain and nervous system can become hyperactive and both the nervous system and immune system are involved. During this process, the nervous system and immune system release chemicals that increase the number of connections and signals flying in the brain and spinal cord. This results in pain being felt during activities and movements that normally should not cause pain. Pain can even be felt through thoughts alone and the pain can even spread to other parts of the body.
In people with centralized pain, also called chronic pain, the alarm continues to sound and memories of pain can persist long after the original cause of the pain has healed. This explains how people can experience pain when an X-ray or MRI looks normal, or why someone with an amputated leg feels phantom limb pain. I have seen that pain itself can quickly become a major concern. The more we focus on our pain, especially if we feel the pain is harmful, the more pain dominates our thinking and our lives. With chronic pain, it’s almost like the more we don’t want pain, the more the brain draws our attention to it. The more we learn about centralized pain, the more we see it in other conditions, including arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic low back, chronic headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, persistent pain after surgery and irritable bowel syndrome. In addition to chronic pain, the unwanted effects of unhelpful neuroplasticity can include withdrawal from activities such as work or sports, poor sleep, low energy levels, bad mood, negative thoughts, increased stress and illness behavior. Keep in mind that these reactions are not your fault anyway, but are very unhelpful when trying to recover from chronic pain. So it is very important to seek professional help to address these issues. Classically, doctors treat peripheral pain with medications to reduce inflammation, but these medications do not work well in the central nervous system. Learning stress management techniques, chiropractic care, cold laser therapy, and nutritional supplements may be more effective treatments to consider if you suffer from chronic pain. Visit our website for more information at www.naturalspinesolutions.com.
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Dr. Wayne M. Fichter Jr., DC, is a chiropractor at Natural Spine Solutions. The company is located at 3913 Schreiber Way in Coeur d’Alene. For more information, please contact us at 208-966-4425.