Pain Reprocessing Therapy - How to Use Somatic Tracking to Unlearn Pain

🏆 Official Selection, Austin Film Festival

➡️ Includes guided somatic tracking exercise 🧘 at 16:20

0:00 Tanner tells his personal chronic pain story
2:43 Howard Schubiner, MD defines Pain Reprocessing Therapy
5:10 FIRST CRITICAL STEP IN PRT: Get an assessment for neuroplastic pain versus structural pain. (Do not skip this step! It is critical for reducing fear, which is the whole game.)

Tanner lays out the criteria for identifying neuroplastic pain: if there no damage discovered in the body, does the symptom switch on and off, does it move around and spread over time, does stress make it worse, is there a history of childhood stress or trauma, do you have multiple pain syndromes, and many more.

9:10 How to get an accurate assessment if you can't see a "mind-body-informed physician" — hint: most people don't need a special mind-body physician.

13:39 Tanner sets up how to use Somatic Tracking for Pain Reprocessing
16:20 GUIDED SOMATIC TRACKING 🧘🧘🧘
21:00 Why does chronic pain alternate with intense anxiety?
25:22 The Boulder Back Pain study found that 66% of patients became pain-free with somatic tracking and PRT from working with therapists Alan Gordon and Christie Uipi.
29:20 Why is it important to be outcome independent?
32:00 What if somatic tracking and PRT aren't enough to unlearn pain?
35:30 How do you talk to other people about this work?
39:24 Lots of ways to work with mind-body symptoms, these are just a few of many. Each person has to find what works for them. EAET (Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy) is another powerful modality that can be added or combined with PRT. EAET is featured extensively in This Might Hurt.

Q&A about how to use Pain Reprocessing Therapy and somatic tracking to unlearn many common chronic pain conditions like back pain, neck pain, hip pain, pelvic pain, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Interstitial Cystitis, headaches, and migraines.

Tanner Murtagh, MSW, RSW is the Director of Pain Psychotherapy Canada and a therapist specializing in treating neuroplastic pain and mind-body concerns. Tanner recovered from chronic pain several years ago using a mind-body approach and now is passionate to support people in unlearning their pain.

Kent Bassett (director, moderator) is an Emmy-nominated editor and filmmaker as well as a pain recovery coach. He directed and edited This Might Hurt (Austin Film Festival), a feature documentary about chronic pain and a radical mind-body treatment, and his most recent editing work is Not Going Quietly, a feature documentary about health care activist Ady Barkan (on Hulu, 2 Emmy Nominations). Kent has a BA in history from Swarthmore College and an MFA in film production from Chapman University.After directing This Might Hurt, Kent trained as a pain recovery coach and works with clients at Mind-Body Insight.

[Doves-eoud]

Does this treatment approach work for stress symptoms that are not "painful" such as visual disturbances, tremors, overactive bladder, word finding, etc? I have these as well as painful stress symptoms like burning stomach pain, migraines, and electrical shock sensations in my face. All fit the profile of coming and going, moving around, and evolving or worsening while under extreme stress or during a traumatic situation.

[Dragonfly-spirit]

Dr. Schubiner, thank you for continuing to train doctors on this pain cause. I am 71 years old and have suffered most of my life with pain and anxiety. I have always known how sensitive I am to everything I feel in my body. I could move in and out of these conditions during stressful times in my life until about 15 years ago when my back and sciatica got really bad. Then it moved to include my hip... I've been limping now for years. I've been told very frightening things by doctors, but never gave into the shots, painkillers or surgery that was recommended. I just always knew it was my emotions. I have read all of Sarno's books and just completed Alan Gordon's the way out book!! I know now that I can beat this and teach my brain to stop the fear! Thanks for this video to all of you!!!

[claresmith]

Just to mention here, I listen to Pain free you with Dan, he’s not a qualified doctor but amazing, he does a daily talk which I listen to and all his stuff is free
He’s very well learned as he suffered for years with pain himself

[Blvd]

Curable is a great app to get started if you don't have a doc or the funds you can work with.

[jcszot]

This opens up an entire new doorway for me to explore. My father died in June of 2021. When we were cleaning out his apartment, which was very cluttered to put it politely lol I injured my right arm. After submitting almost $10, 000 worth of claims to my insurance company and struggling to pay off about $4600 of bills out of pocket, I was told I had what was called parsonage turner syndrome. I was shuffled from doctor to doctor test to test and finally the last orthopedic physician I saw told me that that was a fancy name for a pinched nerve! Well, for heaven sakes, the title parsonage turner syndrome alone is enough to bring on anxiety in any patient I would think. The pain was unbearable, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced! I haven’t forgotten it….and that’s probably my problem lol I’m very cautious about what I do. It felt like I was hanging onto an electrical fence. The type of fences that they use to house livestock. The acute phase eventually did pass thank God ! It took me over a year to really figure out what it was and to make peace with it and try to move forward without medication. I was told by two surgeons that the surgery would not help. I started doing an in-home PT program at the direction of a retired therapist that lived in my community only because I could no longer afford to funnel any more money into this problem.. I also started going to a Reiki practitioner at her suggestion and noticed a drastic turn around in my condition. While she was working on me, she would ask me about my father and inquire about the feelings that I might be experiencing since his death. I have a lot of guilt and regrets around his passing. He was an alcoholic and would often need money, and I would give it to him and I did for the longest time until after members in an Al-Anon group told me that I was enabling him. At that time I started to implement some tough love, and shortly after this, he became sick and rather quickly, and then he passed away. I have to say that since I’ve been going to the Reiki practitioner, I feel a lot better, but I notice from time to time the discomfort is inconsistent and it comes and it goes. It was no accident that I came upon these podcasts and the work that Dr. Schubiner does. I’m going to continue exploring this in much greater depth, because I feel this shines a light, a big light on my particular situation. Thank you so much ….all of you for all the work and attention that you have given this subject matter. 🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[larryc]

Excellent interview! Tanner seems to be a very empathetic mind body coach.

[cheryl]

Oh my gosh this has been so helpful! Especially now that I am on this TMS journey
Thank you so much!

[KathySierraVideo]

I’ve been applying modern pain science views to *horse* rehabilitation, and after ten years doing this, it still feels like a miracle to see horses reclaim their ability to move and enjoy life.
I’m interested to learn more about PRT and how I might incorporate some parts of it.

[reflux]

I listened to John E Sarno - The Divided Mind on audible, but another great audible book i found interesting on psychosomatic disorders is Suzanne O'Sullivan - Its All In Your Head. I found that book useful.

[aquious]

I found cold emersion and exercise really helps me. I also take neurontin and antidepressants.

[FortheBudgies]

Oh thank you so much for saying that this approach requires the accurate assessment of the source of the pain. If I knew my pain wasn't due to a progressive disease I could settle into it and push my boundaries and move on. However it's a giant unknown what or causing the pain and it's difficult to let go of the worry that pushing things will cause injury.

[KlausPercussion]

I got rid of all my pain with Pain Reprocessing Therapy! There's a way out. Trust me :) I am from Austria and read the book of Alan Gordon The Way Out

[enlightenedmind]

How does nerve pain play into this particular pudendal neuralgia

[pggrams]

How does Pain Therapy work with pain from fractured vertebrates that have caused nerve damage for years? I had fractures of the spine many times that were ignored by my doctors, so I continued my active athletic life which caused more damage to my spinal nerves causing neuropathy. I worked as a nurse and was a long-distance runner for years. After leg fractures because my ankle would swell from twisting it at the same time. I was often told my back pain was caused by retroverted uterus even after I had my uterus removed. I assisted in 2 8 hour days of an Arthroscope and the radiology doctor asked me to come back and he x-rayed my back to find old non treated major spine fractures that were never treated. I was told by a spinal doctor that I had a high pain tolerance due to the damage to my spine and I was still pushing myself to work as an active ICU nurse and run about 6 miles a day.

[MikeBensonmichaelpointO]

How can I find practitioners in my city?

[lynncatalano]

Thank you for this very informative discussion. Is there a link to the film you have referred to a few times? I can’t seem to find it. Thank you so much!

[sparkely]

Mines nerve pain in my gums pinching full ache 🤕 I wish this was talked about more I m sure it’s more rare but dang 😢

[RICKYDENNIS]

I have lived with long term chronic pain due to lower back issues for over thirty years. This spinal tissue damage is still present. Big question. I have now watched a great many of these retraining the brain videos and similar treatments. The vast number of these videos talk about therapy and methods of adjusting the brain when the tissue damage is no longer present. My big question is this, Can these treatments help if the tissue damage causing this pain is still present ? A definitive answer to this question would be so very helpful. Chronic pain has dominated my life for over thirty years. Pain relieving drugs have come close to killing me on several occasions. Over the years I have tried so many third party treatments without success. Do I need to accept the pain and cope with life in the best I can or is there really a way for treatments like the one in this video helping. All advice and help would be very much appreciated.

[k-]

Hopefully I'm not asking a redundant question, but is osteoarthritis (the symptoms) in the hands considered TMS? I've read that it's a common age-related abnormality, but I'm not sure if it's the same as degenerative changes in the neck, back, etc. Thanks

[issaciams]

But this is very hard to do when your pain is at a 9 and its holding steady until you relieve the pain by removing the pressure it is currently receiving. Or its just not getting the immediate treatment it needs. Like ice or heat or massage or just rest and time. Chronic pain is such a tough thing to deal with. Im here because nothing else has worked. Going to start this pain reprocessing therapy with my doctor very soon. I hope it actually helps me.