WashU Medicine Neuroplastic Pain Treatment Program

Patients living with chronic pain are often experiencing a type of pain called neuroplastic pain. With neuroplastic pain, the brain and nervous system can become overprotective and continue sending pain signals when the body is not being physically harmed. Neuroplastic pain is suspected when pain persists after an injury has healed or when imaging or other medical tests do not fully explain the symptoms.

The WashU Medicine Neuroplastic Pain Treatment Program helps patients better understand how chronic pain develops and teaches techniques to help calm and retrain the nervous system. It is designed for people who have ongoing pain or symptoms that have not improved with standard treatments or whose symptoms change, spread or seem triggered by everyday activities, stress or certain movements.

Neuroplastic pain is common but often goes unrecognized. It can begin after an injury or develop without a clear physical cause. The pain can often be as intense, or even more intense, than a structural injury like a broken bone or torn ligament. Over time, symptoms can become more widespread and severe.  

Our program is ideal for patients with chronic pain who:  

• Are open to changing how they think about pain. 
• Are open to learning about the connections between the mind, body and pain. 
• Are willing to explore factors that can cause chronic pain, including: 
  • Stress.
  • Thoughts and beliefs about pain.  
  • Past experiences and traumatic events.

Call to schedule your consultation today: 

 

Treatment Approach

Treatment begins with a consultation with one of our physicians, who will review symptoms, medical history and imaging. Because chronic pain can be complex, more than one office visit may be needed to fully understand symptoms and establish a personalized care plan. 

Treatment may include: 

• Counseling
• Education
• Physical therapy
  
• Brain-based exercises to calm the nervous system
• Shared medical appointments

Through shared medical appointments, patients also learn strategies to better manage stress, movement and thoughts related to pain.

Shared medical appointment topics: 

• Receptors, nerves, the brain and pain: What is pain? Why do we experience pain? How does it become chronic? 
• Testing for pain: Evaluating your pain to determine if it is structural, neuroplastic or both. 
• Desensitizing the nervous system: Techniques to retrain how the brain processes signals from the body. 
• Graded exposure and recovery: Further techniques for treating chronic pain.

 

Meet Our Team