How to heal years of chronic pain

Living with chronic pain can feel like an uphill battle, affecting every aspect of daily life. For those experiencing pain that lingers far beyond the initial injury or cause, traditional treatments might not provide enough relief. This is where occupational therapy (OT) can be transformative, especially when combined with cutting-edge approaches like Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and nervous system retraining.

In this blog, we’ll explore how these therapies work and how an occupational therapist can guide you toward managing and even reducing chronic pain so you can reclaim your life.

What is Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)?

Pain Reprocessing Therapy is a groundbreaking approach that helps individuals understand and change the way their brain processes pain signals.

PRT involves five key steps:

1. Reframing Pain as Safe: Completely transforming your relationship to pain.

2. Somatic Tracking: Teaching clients to observe pain with curiosity and neutrality, reducing fear and avoidance.

3. Addressing Fear of Pain: Shifting the emotional response to pain from fear to safety.

4. Catching and Shifting Pain Thoughts: Identifying unhelpful thoughts about pain and replacing them with empowering beliefs.

How Nervous System Retraining Helps

Chronic pain often goes hand-in-hand with a dysregulated nervous system. When the body is stuck in fight-or-flight mode, it amplifies pain signals and keeps the body in a state of hypervigilance. Nervous system retraining focuses on calming this overactivation and restoring balance between the sympathetic (stress) and parasympathetic (rest) systems.

Techniques like breathwork, mindfulness, somatic exercises, and vagus nerve stimulation can teach the body to feel safe again, reducing the intensity of pain signals.

How Occupational Therapy Can Support Chronic Pain Recovery

Occupational therapists bring a unique perspective to pain management, addressing both the physical and emotional aspects of chronic pain. Here’s how an OT can help:

1. Education and Reframing:

• An OT can help you understand the science behind chronic pain and reframe it as a learned brain response rather than a sign of harm. This shift alone can reduce fear and help you feel empowered.

2. Guided Pain Reprocessing:

• OTs can guide you through the steps of PRT, helping you notice pain sensations without fear, address unhelpful thought patterns, and practice viewing pain as safe.

3. Nervous System Regulation Techniques:

• An OT can teach techniques like deep breathing, body scans, grounding exercises, and mindfulness to calm the nervous system and reduce pain signals.

4. Graded Activity Exposure:

• Many people with chronic pain avoid activities out of fear of triggering symptoms. OTs use graded exposure to help you slowly and safely re-engage in the activities you love, building confidence and reducing avoidance behaviors.

5. Customizing a Pain Management Plan:

• Every person’s pain is unique, and an OT can develop an individualized plan that combines PRT, nervous system retraining, and practical strategies to fit your lifestyle. This plan may include pacing activities, ergonomic adjustments, or integrating stress-relief techniques into your daily routine.

6. Addressing Emotional and Behavioral Patterns:

• Chronic pain often comes with emotional challenges like anxiety, depression, or frustration. An OT can help you identify and shift unhelpful emotional and behavioral patterns that may be reinforcing pain.

7. Building Resilience and Confidence:

• By teaching self-regulation tools and offering ongoing support, an OT helps you build confidence in your ability to manage pain and live a fulfilling, active life.

Practical Tools You Can Start Today

If you’re dealing with chronic pain, here are some simple tools inspired by PRT and nervous system retraining that you can try:

1. Somatic Tracking Exercise:

• When you notice pain, pause and observe it without judgment. Focus on the sensation with curiosity instead of fear. Remind yourself that the pain is your brain’s way of protecting you but isn’t a sign of harm.

2. Daily Nervous System Reset:

• Take 5-10 minutes each day for deep, diaphragmatic breathing. Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, and exhale for 6. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system, helping to calm the body.

3. Gratitude and Affirmations:

• Practice gratitude journaling and repeat affirmations such as, “My body is safe, and I am healing.” Positive reinforcement rewires the brain toward safety and ease.

4. Graded Exposure to Activities You Avoid:

• Choose one activity you’ve been avoiding because of pain. Start small and engage in it gently, noticing any fear or hesitation. Over time, your brain will re-learn that the activity is safe.

Reclaiming Your Life from Pain

Chronic pain doesn’t have to rule your life. By combining Pain Reprocessing Therapy and nervous system retraining with the expertise of an occupational therapist, you can teach your brain and body to break free from the pain cycle. With time, consistency, and compassionate support, it’s possible to feel safe, resilient, and empowered again.

If you’re ready to explore how occupational therapy can help with pain, reach out to learn more about how I can guide you on your healing journey. Together, we can move from surviving to thriving.