Doctor Reveals How Memory Reprocessing Eliminated Patient's Severe Back Pain After Surgery Failed

What was said

"She had this memory of being sexually assaulted when she was young. With her back up against a ping pong table where the pain was. And as part of that memory, it's creating a tremendous amount of hurt and fear and feeling trapped. But what she did as part of that memory was to start to change it, to take agency in her mind, in her imagination, to throw this person off, to stop them, to kick them or step on them, to call the police. And when she did that whole process, which didn't take that long, the pain went away."

Dr. Howard Schubiner described a case where a woman with severe chronic back pain that persisted even after surgery recovered by reprocessing a traumatic childhood memory. Through therapeutic imagination, she reimagined the assault where her back was against a ping pong table, giving her younger self agency to fight back and seek help. The pain disappeared after this emotional processing session, demonstrating the brain's role in creating and eliminating chronic pain tied to unresolved trauma.