An Emerging New Treatment for Chronic Back Pain
Chronic back pain affects 16 million adults in the United States, and is one of the most frequent complaints that doctors receive from their patients. In fact, chronic back pain is a leading cause of work-loss days due to disability, and treatment for its symptoms is often ineffective.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted a study investigating a new four-week psychological treatment for chronic back pain. Evidence from the study supports the idea that a non-drug treatment can provide effective and long-standing relief from chronic back pain.
The study found that two-thirds of chronic back pain patients who underwent pain reprocessing therapy (PRT), a four-week psychological treatment, were either pain-free or nearly pain-free after the treatment. Through follow-up appointments, researchers concluded that the relief felt by patients continued for one whole year after PRT.
Since chronic pain has long been thought of as a physical problem in the body, most treatments in the past aimed to target that aspect of the condition. In contrast, PRT is based on the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt and associate new neural pathways.
Approximately 85% of patients with chronic back pain have "primary pain." This means that medical tests are unable to detect an identifiable physical source causing the pain. Recently, this has led many medical professionals to believe the source of pain is in the brain.
In fact, researchers have found that misfiring neural pathways are at least partially the cause of chronic back pain. Certain brain regions and neural pathways are activated during episodes of chronic pain, setting off an alarm telling the brain and body that something is wrong. Over time, these pathways in chronic pain patients become oversensitized and they begin reacting to even mild stimuli. When this happens, the brain acts like it’s in a false alarm mode that is constantly switched on. In this context, PRT uses neuroplasticity to help the brain unlearn its oversensitive response to pain stimuli.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted a study investigating a new four-week psychological treatment for chronic back pain. Evidence from the study supports the idea that a non-drug treatment can provide effective and long-standing relief from chronic back pain.
The study found that two-thirds of chronic back pain patients who underwent pain reprocessing therapy (PRT), a four-week psychological treatment, were either pain-free or nearly pain-free after the treatment. Through follow-up appointments, researchers concluded that the relief felt by patients continued for one whole year after PRT.
Since chronic pain has long been thought of as a physical problem in the body, most treatments in the past aimed to target that aspect of the condition. In contrast, PRT is based on the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt and associate new neural pathways.
Approximately 85% of patients with chronic back pain have "primary pain." This means that medical tests are unable to detect an identifiable physical source causing the pain. Recently, this has led many medical professionals to believe the source of pain is in the brain.
In fact, researchers have found that misfiring neural pathways are at least partially the cause of chronic back pain. Certain brain regions and neural pathways are activated during episodes of chronic pain, setting off an alarm telling the brain and body that something is wrong. Over time, these pathways in chronic pain patients become oversensitized and they begin reacting to even mild stimuli. When this happens, the brain acts like it’s in a false alarm mode that is constantly switched on. In this context, PRT uses neuroplasticity to help the brain unlearn its oversensitive response to pain stimuli.
It was found that pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) led to significant improvements in chronic back pain patients suffering from “primary pain.”
Image Source: Kindel Media
The researchers administered PRT to patients between 21 and 70 years of age that complained of back pain for the majority of the past six months. The patients completed eight individual one-hour therapy sessions with an experienced PRT therapist twice a week for four weeks.
After the treatment was completed, neural imaging was used to identify how pain signaling pathways changed. The researchers found that there were significant changes in the brain’s pain-generating pathways after PRT was administered, as 66% of patients that received the treatment were pain-free or nearly pain-free.
The patients also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans so that the researchers could measure how their brains reacted to a mild pain stimulus. For most patients, PRT was remarkably effective at reducing the overactive responses that lead to chronic back pain.
Even though the study’s findings suggest great promise for the treatment of chronic back pain in patients suffering from “primary pain,” it is critical to note that PRT is not intended to treat patients with “secondary pain,” which is pain caused by a direct injury or disease.
It is also important to recognize that the patients included in the study were still active and could function despite their pain. This raises concerns regarding how applicable PRT may be for patients with more severe chronic back pain.
While more research on the potential applicability of PRT for the treatment of chronic back pain is needed to address these concerns, the research findings suggest that PRT could be a new possibility for the treatment of chronic back pain, thereby giving hope to those struggling with the condition.
After the treatment was completed, neural imaging was used to identify how pain signaling pathways changed. The researchers found that there were significant changes in the brain’s pain-generating pathways after PRT was administered, as 66% of patients that received the treatment were pain-free or nearly pain-free.
The patients also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans so that the researchers could measure how their brains reacted to a mild pain stimulus. For most patients, PRT was remarkably effective at reducing the overactive responses that lead to chronic back pain.
Even though the study’s findings suggest great promise for the treatment of chronic back pain in patients suffering from “primary pain,” it is critical to note that PRT is not intended to treat patients with “secondary pain,” which is pain caused by a direct injury or disease.
It is also important to recognize that the patients included in the study were still active and could function despite their pain. This raises concerns regarding how applicable PRT may be for patients with more severe chronic back pain.
While more research on the potential applicability of PRT for the treatment of chronic back pain is needed to address these concerns, the research findings suggest that PRT could be a new possibility for the treatment of chronic back pain, thereby giving hope to those struggling with the condition.
Featured Image Source: Tumisu
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