How is Chronic Pain Related to Trauma?
Chronic pain is a condition that many people endure without understanding its true origins. The standard medical approach often focuses on the physical aspects of pain—injuries, inflammation, and structural abnormalities. But an increasing body of research suggests that chronic pain isn't solely the result of physical damage. For many, unresolved trauma may play a significant role in the persistence of pain. As a somatic practitioner specializing in neuroplastic pain and nervous system retraining, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply interconnected trauma and chronic pain can be.
Trauma and the Nervous System
When we experience a traumatic event, whether it's physical, emotional, or psychological, our nervous system reacts instinctively. It enters a state of fight, flight, or freeze, activating all its resources to survive the perceived threat. This is a healthy and necessary response for acute situations. However, when trauma isn't fully processed or resolved, the nervous system can remain stuck in this heightened state of alertness. The body starts to perceive danger everywhere, even in the absence of any real threat.
This dysregulated state, often referred to as being "stuck in survival mode," can manifest as a variety of symptoms—chronic pain being one of them.
The Neuroplasticity of Pain
Neuroplastic pain, also known as "mind-body" or "non-structural" pain, is a term used to describe pain that is generated by the brain and nervous system rather than from tissue damage. Trauma can prime the brain to expect pain, amplifying or even creating sensations in the body as a form of protection. In other words, your brain interprets certain signals as dangerous based on past trauma, even if there is no immediate threat.
This is where neuroplasticity comes into play. Our brains are highly adaptable, constantly rewiring themselves based on new experiences and inputs. When trauma has altered the brain’s perception of safety, it can create persistent pain signals long after the initial cause of pain has healed. The body becomes conditioned to experience pain even though there’s no structural injury to sustain it.
Trauma as a Root Cause
Trauma doesn’t necessarily have to be a catastrophic event like an accident or abuse. It can be more subtle, such as childhood neglect, feeling unsupported, or repeated exposure to high-stress environments. These experiences accumulate over time and can have a profound impact on the body.
The brain essentially learns to stay in a state of hypervigilance. In this state, muscles may stay tense, breathing becomes shallow, and energy is depleted, contributing to the development of chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and tension headaches. Even conditions like back pain, pelvic pain, or joint pain can be linked to unresolved trauma.
A Client’s Journey: 10 Years of Back Pain, Resolved
I once worked with a client who had been suffering from severe back pain for over 10 years. Despite seeking various forms of treatment—from physical therapy to medication—nothing seemed to alleviate her discomfort. When she came to me, she was unable to engage in the activities she loved without the constant fear of pain returning.
Instead of focusing on her back directly, we began working on her nervous system, addressing areas of past trauma and teaching her brain that her body was safe. We used somatic techniques to release stuck emotions and rewire her brain’s pain pathways. Remarkably, after years of living with debilitating pain, she experienced a complete disappearance of her back pain. She now moves through her daily life freely, able to participate in the activities she had long avoided, without the looming fear of pain returning.
Her story is a powerful testament to how trauma and nervous system dysregulation can be at the root of chronic pain, and how addressing these deeper issues can lead to profound healing.
The Body Keeps the Score
As trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk says, "the body keeps the score." The emotional pain we endure often finds a way to express itself through the body. Repressed emotions such as fear, anger, or sadness that were not allowed to surface at the time of the traumatic event can eventually manifest as physical pain. Your body becomes a vessel for the unresolved feelings that you may not even be aware of.
This is why it’s so important to approach chronic pain from a mind-body perspective, understanding that what we hold emotionally and psychologically can significantly impact our physical health.
Healing Trauma to Heal Pain
The good news is that if trauma can contribute to chronic pain, then addressing trauma can also help reduce or eliminate it. Through trauma-informed approaches like somatic practices, pain reprocessing therapy, and nervous system retraining, we can teach the brain to "unlearn" the pain signals it’s been amplifying.
Somatic work focuses on reconnecting with the body, allowing us to process emotions and sensations that may have been frozen or dissociated from during the trauma. By creating a safe and supportive environment, individuals can release the stored trauma that has been contributing to their pain. Nervous system retraining, on the other hand, helps calm the overactive survival responses, bringing the body back into a state of balance where healing can occur.
Moving Forward
Understanding the link between chronic pain and trauma is empowering. It shifts the focus from purely physical treatments to a more holistic approach that acknowledges the role of the mind, emotions, and nervous system in pain. If you've been living with chronic pain and haven’t found relief through conventional methods, exploring the deeper emotional or traumatic roots could be the missing piece to your healing journey.
Remember, pain is not just a physical experience—it's a message from your body, asking you to listen and respond with care and compassion. With the right tools and support, it is possible to heal both the pain and the trauma that lies beneath it.
