The Wound is Where the Light Enters ~

Rumi

by Natasha Silver Bell

We spend a lot of time - and resources - on health and wellness. The global health and wellness market will reach 12.9 trillion dollars in 2031 according to The Global Wellness Institute. Today we know that to be truly healthy our mental emotional psychological and spiritual health counts as much as exercise healthy eating and a full night’s sleep. Yet data shows that while life expectancy is rising more of that time is spent living in poor health. I believe our woefully ineffective treatment of chronic pain a major global health burden affecting almost 1.5 billion people may be to blame.

When it comes to healing I’m a firm believer in neuroscience and evidence-based modalities. Feeling seen and heard by practitioners we trust is indispensable: I’m passionate about connection – connecting to ourselves to others to nature spirit and whatever lies beyond. At SilverBell Global our relationships with best-in-class practitioners reflect this philosophy and Pain Recovery specialists Laura and Dr. Wayne Kampers embody it in their groundbreaking life-changing Pain Recovery Program.

A renowned GP with over thirty years of expertise and clinical skills in General Practice Dr. Kampers has spent almost two decades as an Integrative Consultant Psychiatrist focusing on Pain Psychology and Mind-Body Medicine. Laura Kampers is a Certified Pain Reprocessing Therapist and Pain Recovery Coach. Their professional journey into Pain Recovery has very personal origins: Wayne’s chronic debilitating back pain. “I witnessed my husband's descent from a healthy active fun-loving go-getter to a desperate hopeless miserable shell of his former self. I made it my mission to find the root of the problem the reason for the pain.”

Even the name chronic pain leaves something to be desired. Enlightened practitioners like the Kampers now refer to chronic primary pain when the pain itself is the disease rather than a symptom of another condition. Dr. Kampers explains that “Chronic Primary Pain is pain for which there's no identified structural cause….Primary pain is a new concept informed by the latest public scientific and clinical evidence-based research such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and pain processing therapy.”

At SilverBell Global we see the reverberating impacts of expensive - and often addictive - chronic primary pain mismanagement every day. With the opioid epidemic drawing national alarm it isn’t hard to agree with the Kampers that when it comes to treating chronic primary pain we must do things differently. Their evidence-based holistic practical and effective treatment is changing our global approach to chronic primary pain particularly in how we connect and communicate with those who suffer. Ardent advocates of anyone who has felt dismissed or devalued in their journey toward pain recovery the Kampers have been especially impactful working with women suffering from Fibromyalgia and attendant primary pain.

Pain research shows the majority of chronic primary pain is neuroplastic pain occurring when the brain misinterprets safe messages from the body as if we are in danger. When our nervous system is constantly on high alert our body reacts in kind. Understood as our body’s way of communicating with us Neuroplastic pain holds keys to places where we may feel unsafe or have unresolved or unattended feelings or emotions.

Neuroplastic pain doesn’t hurt any less (or differently) than other pain. Brain imaging studies show that the brain doesn’t know the difference between neuroplastic pain and pathological pain - they feel the same. As Dr. Kampers says “Do not let anybody tell you that your pain is not real. Neuroplastic pain is real...very real.”

Targeting chronic neuroplastic pain through working with the mind is as challenging - and rewarding - as any intense physical therapy regimen with mindfulness repetition and curiosity replacing medicine balls weights and elastic bands. Laura shares that “The most important target in treating chronic pain is your emotional brain. Our entire Pain Recovery Program is designed to target your underlying memory pathways allowing your brain to unlearn your chronic pain by creating new pathways.”

The Pain Recovery Program always begins with a detailed and comprehensive diagnostic assessment by Dr. Kampers to rule out physical causes. The practice then shifts toward exploring and resetting the mind-body connection to “switch your brain from survival mode to a creative and thriving mode.” Laura draws upon her therapeutic Pain Reprocessing and coaching skills to support and empower clients who emerge informed empowered…and pain-free.

“I wish more medical professionals were like Wayne and had a truly holistic approach he is so caring and passionate about helping people it was a breath of fresh air following all the other doctors I'd seen. Laura is the same her passion and energy and desire to help people shine.”

When it comes to recovery from chronic pain, we are entering an age of enlightenment. We know that suffering from chronic pain transcends the physical to affect us emotionally psychologically and spiritually. Finally with the help of practitioners like Laura and Dr. Kampers we are beginning to understand that healing lies in these realms as well. We are beginning to feel the truth.