Howdy everyone. My physical therapist is very good. She is doing the most modern thing - neuroplasticity - for chronic pain. In the past, my pain dr. has given me: tai chi (25 years ago), narcotics (15 years ago), and gabapentin aka neurontin (5 years ago). I couldn't do the tai chi because I'd just come out of a meditation cult, the narcotics didn't help (they knew they wouldn't), the gabapentin took away pain but it also took away my short-term memory! From elsewhere, I've done the following for chronic pain: re-evaluation co-counseling, Christian Science, psychotherapy, mindfulness meditation, acupuncture, physical therapy, ibuprofen, icing, yoga, chiropractic...I'm sure I've left out a bunch! Anyhow, neuroplasticity is the latest.
Interesting, could you explain what it is?
Short version: Are you familiar with "phantom pain"? That's when a person had a limb amputated, but still feels pain in that limb. This illustrates how pain is not strictly in the muscle or tissue, but in the brain.
@L2015 (continued from above). There’s lots of research showing that chronic pain sensations may not be due to injured tissue, but to the brain having gotten into a “habit” of experiencing that area as painful. Neuroplasticity is the new field of how to re-wire your brain so that your brain stops firing off pain sensations.