Although various treatments aim to manage pain, PRT stands apart as an evidence-based treatment to eliminate pain. This is a complete paradigm shift in the way we understand pain and is based on recent scientific studies which have demonstrated complete and long-lasting recovery from pain. Core Ideas Behind PRT:
- Chronic pain is often neuroplastic —meaning it’s maintained by the brain, even when no tissue damage is present.
- By changing thoughts, emotions, and responses to pain, the brain can be retrained to stop generating unnecessary pain signals. How PRT Works:
- Education : Patients learn that their pain may be caused by the brain’s neural pathways, not structural damage.
- Somatic Tracking : A mindfulness-based technique where patients notice pain in a calm, curious way without fear, helping to reduce threat signals.
- Cognitive Reappraisal : Challenging and shifting fear-based beliefs about pain.
- Emotional Processing : Exploring suppressed emotions that might contribute to the brain’s pain response. What It’s Used For:
- Chronic back pain
- Neck pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Tension headaches
- Other medically unexplained pain syndromes Research:
PRT was tested in a 2021 study published in JAMA Psychiatry , which found that two-thirds of participants with chronic back pain were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment.