Welcome to your Neuroplastic Pain Screening
This screening tool will help you to determine the likelihood that your chronic pain is neuroplastic. Neuroplastic, or mind/body pain is hard-wired into your nervous system and due to stress, unresolved internal conflicts and subconscious emotions rather than due to an injury or structural problem. The higher your score on this screening tool, the greater the likelihood that your chronic pain can be cured with a mind/body approach in psychotherapy. Pain Reprocessing Therapy is an evidence-based psychological treatment for chronic pain that helps patients recover from, rather than learn to live with, chronic pain.
Did your pain originate without an injury?
Neuroplastic pain sometimes starts with an injury, but having had no specific injury increases the odds that your pain is neuroplastic.
If your symptom began after an injury, has it persisted long after the injury should have healed? (healing of most physical injuries is complete in 6 weeks or less.)
Even if a symptom starts with an injury, most injuries heal relatively quickly and no longer cause pain after they have healed.
Did your pain originate during a time of stress?
Neuroplastic pain often begins during a time of particular stress, change, loss or trauma. We may not always be aware of the full impact of this stress as the pain may distract us from our emotions.
Is your pain inconsistent?
Neuroplastic pain is often inconsistent, happening during some activities but not other similar activities or on some days but not others. If it is symmetrical, that can also be a sign of neuroplastic pain, but not all neuroplastic pain is symmetrical.
Does your pain spread, or move around your body?
Neuroplastic pain can often spread from your back to your neck or your arm or your hip. Structural pain tends to stay in one location and not move around.
Do you have a history of a variety of symptoms? (e.g. digestive, headaches, anxiety, etc.)
Sometimes people with neuroplastic pain start with one symptom, but many have a history of symptoms since childhood or young adulthood. If you have had other symptoms that have been difficult to diagnose, this can be a sign that your symptom is neuroplastic.
Do your symptoms have the quality of tingling, electric shock, burning, numbness, heat or cold?
Neuroplastic pain often has these qualities, which are uncommon in pain that is due to a structural issue.
Are your symptoms more or less intense depending on the time of day, or occur first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night?
Neuroplastic pain often has these qualities, which are uncommon in pain that is due to a structural issue.
Do your symptoms occur after, but not during, activity or exercise?
Neuroplastic pain often occurs after activity, which is uncommon in pain that is due to a structural issue.
Are your symptoms less severe or less frequent when you are engaged in enjoyable or distracting activities, such as vacation?
Neuroplastic pain often is not present during pleasurable activities, which does not occur with pain that is due to a structural issue.
Are your symptoms triggered by foods, smells, sounds, light, computer screens, menses, changes in the weather or specific movements?
Neuroplastic pain or other symptoms often become associated with certain foods or experiences, or hormonal periods. This is often a sign that a symptom is neuroplastic rather than due to an illness or injury.
Do you have a history of childhood adversity or trauma?
Many neuroplastic pain sufferers experienced neglect or abuse in childhood, but many also had more minor difficulties, such as anxious, perfectionistic parents, an alcoholic family member, or just a lack of emotional safety.
Do you tend toward anxiety, hypervigilance, people-pleasing or perfectionism?
Neuroplastic pain is fueled by fear and tends to happen in people who are high-strung, people-pleasers or perfectionists. Other common personality traits include a tendency to be highly detail-oriented, to catastrophize or to have difficulty relaxing.
Has your doctor completed diagnostic testing without finding a definite cause for your symptom(s)?
Many cases of chronic pain or related symptoms occur without any structural abnormalities, and these symptoms are very likely to be neuroplastic. Neuroplastic pain may be associated with structural abnormalities that appear to be the cause of the pain, but many people with similar abnormalities experience no pain. This is true of most forms of osteoarthritis, bulging disks and other age-related degenerative changes.
