The brain is capable of generating any physical sensation in any part of the body: pain in your back, your neck, your eyes, your teeth, muscle pain, nerve pain, sharp pain, dull pain, tightness, tingling, burning, numbness. If you’re experiencing an unpleasant sensation anywhere in your body, it is absolutely possible that it’s neuroplastic.

That being said, there are chronic pain conditions that can be caused by physical problems in the body, such as tumors, infections, fractures, and autoimmune disorders.

Because all pain feels like it’s coming from the body, it can be difficult to distinguish between pain that’s physically caused and pain that’s neuroplastic. Luckily, there are certain signs you can look for that point to neuroplastic pain.
 

Here is a list of guidelines that can help you make this determination.

• Pain Originated During Time of Stress
• Pain Originated Without Injury
• Symptoms Are Inconsistent
• Large Number of Symptoms
• Symptoms Spread / Move
• Symptoms Triggered by Stress
• Triggers that Have Nothing to do with Your Body
• Symmetrical Symptoms
• Delayed Pain
• Childhood Adversity
  • This isn’t just major trauma that can lead to neuroplastic pain. Anything that made you feel unsafe growing up can predispose you to chronic pain.
  • Growing up with a parent that was: anxious, critical, alcoholic, depressed, lived with chronic pain, etc.
  • Patient was bullied in primary or high school, or in a highly competitive school or sport.
• Common Personality Traits
  • Many pain patients are prone to self-criticism, putting pressure on themselves, and worrying.
  • Here are some other traits that are common in neuroplastic pain patients, with a brief example of each:
    • Perfectionism: feeling never good enough, self-critical, lack of self-compassion or self-acceptance
    • People pleasing
    • Anxiousness
    • Conscientiousness
• Lack of Physical Diagnosis

Even if none of these guidelines apply, you could still have neuroplastic pain.

Neuroplastic pain is very good at mimicking structurally caused pain.