Gary Greenspan’s back hurt constantly. For decades, he woke up with a pain he described as an eight out of 10. He tried everything, from doctors and chiropractors to acupuncture and yoga. He never found lasting relief, until a clinical trial at CU Anschutz helped him reconsider the origin of his pain.
Greenspan believed the source of his back pain was degenerated disks, made worse by accidents, aging and nights hunched over a drum kit. In just eight weeks via one-hour telehealth sessions, he began to recognize the pain’s true source was his brain.
It’s been a year since the 55-year-old Florida man completed the trial, and he continues to wake up each morning feeling great – no pain, no tightness, no spasms – even after a late night with the band.
“This is the best I’ve felt in 25 years,” he said.
Greenspan participated in Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), an evidenced-based psychological intervention that helps people recover from chronic pain. He’s one of many who have found lasting relief by addressing stress and emotional patterns that can reinforce pain signals in the brain. In a randomized clinical trial, many participants receiving PRT reported being pain-free or nearly pain-free years after treatment.
Key points:
A professional drummer ended a 30-year battle with chronic back pain after completing an eight-week course of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) delivered through weekly, one-hour telehealth sessions.
Research from CU Anschutz suggests many cases of chronic pain originate in the brain's pain-processing systems rather than physical damage in the body. In a randomized clinical trial, many participants who received PRT reported being pain-free or nearly pain-free years after treatment.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy works by helping patients recognize emotional and cognitive triggers that reinforce pain signals and retraining the brain to stop generating them.
When people experience physical pain, it's often assumed that the origin of the pain is in the body part itself. Pain in the back originates in the back, and pain in the shoulder originates in the shoulder. Yet research by Yoni Ashar, PhD, a pain researcher and associate professor of internal medicine at CU Anschutz, demonstrates that chronic pain actually originates in the brain.
Treating chronic pain – pain that lasts for more than three months – is notoriously difficult. It can occur after an injury heals, but it can also occur in the absence of injury. Ashar said current treatment options aren’t effective.
“People with chronic pain might be treated with opioids, which have side effects and a high risk of abuse. Or they undergo surgery such as radiofrequency ablation or epidural steroid injection, which can be effective for acute pain but are less effective for chronic pain,” Ashar said.
Greenspan looked to both Eastern and Western medicines to help, but his pain remained unrelenting. When he learned about Ashar’s clinical trial, he applied and hoped he’d get picked.
“I’m a big believer in therapy, so I figured, what’s the worst that can happen? I talk to a therapist for an hour a week and feel the same at the end of eight weeks? What’s to lose?”
Related: Pain Reprocessing Therapy Reduces Chronic Back Pain for Years, Study Finds
Therapy for chronic pain isn’t new. But traditional methods focus on helping people cope with pain. In PRT, the goal is recovery.
“Pain is not a chronic disease to be managed. It’s a condition you can recover from. Your brain can unlearn the pain by going through this treatment protocol,” Ashar said.
During PRT, Greenspan learned how beliefs across his lifetime contributed to his experience of pain. His earliest memories of his relationship with pain started when he totaled his car at age 16. At the urging of his mother, he saw a chiropractor even though he doesn’t remember hurting.
“The only thing I can chalk it up to is having a mother who probably was just so worried and wanted to make sure I was okay,” Greenspan said.
After the accident, Greenspan stayed active, playing basketball in high school and going to college on a baseball scholarship. Drumming in a rock band became his full-time gig in his 20s. But by his mid-30s, late nights banging the drums had him popping “Advil like candy.”
Greenspan had multiple X-rays over the years, pointing to degenerated disks in his neck and back. His doctor showed him a chart of how disks can degenerate naturally with age. He watched how his body changed over the years. After a gig in his 20s, he was ready to go out. Around his mid-30s, he’d play then be ready for bed – all while bracing himself for pain the next morning.
He continued to do his best to take care of his body.
“I took supplements. I exercised. I did what I could, but pain is what happens with age. That’s the message I kept hearing.”
Interested in participating in a clinical research trial at CU Anschutz? Find a research study.
A goal of PRT is to help chronic pain sufferers identify the emotional states that lead the brain to amplify pain signals. Often, therapists engaging in PRT help their patients move through stressful situations that can exacerbate pain.
When Greenspan started PRT, he had lost both his dad and sister within six months of each other. He’d spent a lot of time in a caregiving role and had been working to settle both estates.
“PRT couldn't have come at a better time,” he said. “I was able to talk to my therapist and process the emotions I had to put on the shelf while I was dealing with the logistics of everything.”
After the fourth session of PRT, Greenspan was “blown away.” His pain was gone – and he was beginning to see how much his beliefs, thoughts and emotions had been contributing. By the end of the eight weeks, Greenspan was in a good place mentally and physically.
He had one episode of pain during the year that followed his therapy. After a highly-charged, emotional conversation with a family member, he stood up and felt his lower back begin to spasm.
“I was like, what the heck happened? Then it hit me, and I remembered – it’s not my back. I just had a call that triggered emotions about stuff that happened years ago.”
Greenspan used the tools his therapist taught him.
“I did some breathing, I relaxed my body, and I reminded myself that there wasn’t any reason for me to have back pain.”
Five minutes later, Greenspan’s back was fine.
“It showed me again just how powerful the mind really is,” he said.
“Pain is not a chronic disease to be managed. It’s a condition you can recover from. Your brain can unlearn the pain by going through this treatment protocol." – Yoni Ashar, PhD
A year after completing therapy and remaining pain free, Greenspan is back to playing gigs without the trepidation of thinking his back would hurt after. He’s happy – and so are his friends.
“I complained for so long about being in constant pain, so my buddies got more out of the study than I did,” Greenspan joked.
At his one-year evaluation, he told his doctor he’s both surprised and unsurprised by the experience.
“Having my pain being driven by my mind had never occurred to me,” Greenspan said.
Considering one in five Americans experiences chronic pain, Greenspan encourages anyone who hurts to consider working with a therapist trained in Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
“I know so many people that live with pain, and most want to take a pill and make it go away. The process wasn’t easy, but the results are unbelievable. There’s data, and it works. I’m living proof.”
Learn More About Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Resources are available through Symptomatic.me, a nonprofit website offering:
PRT educational resources
Provider directories
Books and podcasts about chronic pain