Possible Neuroplastic Conditions

Neuroplastic pain/symptoms are not caused by tissue damage or an identifiable disease process. Studies now show that they develop when the brain’s signaling patterns become altered. These changes can give rise to severe and long lasting symptoms that often defy conventional test results and do not respond as expected to standard medical treatments. Reassuringly, growing evidence suggests that meaningful and sustained recovery is possible through calming and retraining the nervous system, alongside exploring how life experiences—both past and present—and related unresolved emotions, shape brain patterns and symptom expression.

Often conditions are given a diagnostic label based on the description of the symptoms, for example: Repetitive Strain Injury, Piriformis Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue. Many are believed to be incurable, yet can be fully reversed when recognised and treated as a neuroplastic condition.

For many people nothing can be found to be causing their symptoms and in fact 21% of frequent attenders to GP Practices in the UK have medically unexplained symptoms, which is another term used for conditions that are neuroplastic and reversible .

There are also often many inconsistencies between what we believe to be a physical disorder and the actual onset and presentation of the symptoms themselves, which can help in the diagnosis of a stress-induced condition.

DISCLAIMER: Obviously some conditions may have a more serious cause and in order to diagnose and then safely treat a condition as neuroplastic, it is necessary to have these ruled out first by a medical practitioner. e.g. cancer, infection, fracture, autoimmune disorders.

Listed below are just some of the diagnoses where the symptoms are commonly found to be neuroplastic.

Musculoskeletal

Back pain, neck pain, hip pain, shoulder pain and other aches and pains throughout the joints or limbs, Tension headache, Fibromyalgia, Sciatica, Whiplash, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), Complex Regional Pain Disorder (CRPD), Temperomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ), Chronic Tendonitis, Myofascial Pain Syndromes, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Piriformis Syndrome, Plantar Fasciitis, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Bursitis, Tendonitis, Sacro-Iliac joint dysfunction, Dystonia.

N.B. When Muscles, Ligaments and Tendons are targeted this can cause pain wherever the soft tissue is in the body.

Nerve symptoms may include; numbness, itching, burning, tingling, pins and needles, plus muscle weakness, muscle spasms and involuntary movements, restless leg syndrome etc.

Gastrointestinal

Abdominal pain, Ulcer symptoms, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, IBS, colitis, spastic colon, Hiatus hernia, heartburn, acid reflux, constipation, diarrhoea.

Bladder and genitals

Spastic bladder, bladder frequency, testicular pain, penile pain, Interstitial Cystitis, chronic prostatitis, undiagnosed pelvic pain, erectile dysfunction, infertility, impotence, vaginitis, vaginismus .

Skin

Eczema, acne, psoriasis, hives, rashes etc

Immune system

‘Wind up’ – allergies, hay fever, food intolerances

‘Wind down’ – frequent infections, such as ear, chest, bladder, thrush, cystitis, etc. Veruccas, warts

Mental health

Obsessive compulsive thoughts, Eating disorders, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, panic attacks, Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), Self mutilation, substance use.

Heart and Lungs

(Clearly, as with any other organic symptom, all tests must rule out any other cause first) Repetitive cough, shortness of breath, undiagnosed chest pain, palpitations, high or low blood pressure, hyperventilation or shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats, arrythmias.

Others

Medically Unexplained Symptoms, Functional Neurological Disorders, pseudo seizures, difficulty swallowing or gagging, chronic fatigue/tiredness, Migraines, Bell’s palsy, facial paralysis, Vertigo/dizziness, blurred vision, Tinnitus, changes in voice, dental pain, PoTS, Hypermobity etc.

Hypersensitivity syndromes, plus in general conditions where the diagnosis includes ‘syndrome’ (meaning – group of symptoms) and/or is explanatory, such as including the area of the body. e.g. tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome and burning mouth syndrome.