I wish I could go back and sit across from the surgeons who looked me in the eye and said—with total confidence—“You need surgery.”
They pointed to my scans. Circled the “problem areas.” Explained what was torn, degenerated, or misaligned. Made it sound like my body was broken and in need of repair.
Add to that six physical therapists, seven chiropractors, and years of corrective exercises, adjustments, and injections—all telling me the same thing: “Once we fix your body, the pain will go away.”
But it didn’t. And I now know why.
Most of the time, the pain we experience isn’t coming from the “damage” we see on a scan. But no one told me that. And no one told you either.
This is the part of the story that most of the medical system, even well-meaning practitioners, continue to miss. They treat pain like a mechanical issue. They assume that if something looks “off” structurally, it must be the cause of your symptoms. And when nothing shows up? They either say it’s stress, or worse—they imply it’s all in your head.
But here’s what the research actually shows:
- 87% of people have disc bulges—with no pain.
- 76% of people over 50 have rotator cuff tears—with no pain.
- 68% have hip labral tears—with no pain.
- 60% show degenerative arthritis on imaging—with no pain.
- Up to 50% of adults have spinal stenosis—with no pain.
Let that sink in for a moment. These are the exact conditions many of us are told must be the reason we hurt. But most of the time, people have these same scan results and feel totally fine.
So if your scans look “bad,” but your pain isn’t going away—despite treatment, physical therapy, or even surgery—it’s not because you’re doing something wrong. It’s because pain is not just about structure. It’s about the state of your nervous system.
This was the missing link in my story. I spent years trying to fix my body. I followed every recommendation. Took every step. Tried every strategy that was supposed to lead me out of pain. And nothing really worked—because I wasn’t addressing the root cause.
What I eventually learned is that pain doesn’t only come from injury. It comes from a brain and nervous system stuck in a threat response. When the body perceives danger—emotional, physical, or psychological—the nervous system activates survival mode. And when it stays stuck there long enough, it begins to generate pain signals even after the body has healed.
This is called neuroplastic pain. And once I understood it, everything began to change.
I stopped trying to correct my posture. I stopped obsessing over scans. I stopped believing the story that I was fragile, broken, or just unlucky. And I started working with my nervous system—the part of me that was actually keeping the pain alive.
Within weeks, the same chronic pain I was told would require surgery started to fade.
Not because I found a better doctor. Not because I stretched more or changed my workout routine. But because I finally shifted the internal state that had been keeping my brain stuck in fear—and my body stuck in pain.
This is the piece no one told me. And if you’re still reading, I want you to hear it clearly:
Your pain is real. But the source of that pain may not be what you’ve been told. Scary scans aren’t the full story. And sometimes, they’re not the story at all.
Your body is not broken.
You are not fragile.
And you are not stuck.
You were simply never taught that pain can be learned by the brain—and unlearned through safety, awareness, and regulation.
If you’ve been told your scan is the final word on your pain, I want to invite you to look deeper. Because the way out of pain isn’t always through another fix. Sometimes it’s through a new understanding. One that includes your nervous system.
And when your body finally gets the message that it’s safe—that it no longer needs to protect you with pain—healing begins.
