Chronic Pain, Functional Neurological Disorder, and Nervous System Sensitivities
Acute pain serves an important protective purpose, alerting us to injury, illness, or potential danger and helping us respond appropriately. Chronic pain is different: over time, the nervous system can become increasingly sensitive, and pain may continue or intensify even when it is no longer providing the same useful information about immediate injury or threat. Persistent or chronic pain does not necessarily mean that there is ongoing structural damage to the body; instead, it can reflect a nervous system that is having difficulty accurately interpreting and communicating signals of safety and danger.
The resources below offer education, practical strategies, and support for children, teens, young adults, and families navigating chronic pain. They include information about pediatric chronic pain, pain neuroscience, nervous system regulation, improving daily functioning, and returning to meaningful activities.
- Children’s Book: Guts by Raina Telgemeier
- Children’s Book: Pain, It’s All In Your Head (Just Like Everything Else) by Kavita Desai Dakoji
- It Doesn’t Have to Hurt – Centre for Pediatric Pain Research
- Leora Kuttner: Dancing with Pain Trailer
- Lorimer Moseley: TEDx Why Things Hurt
- Mayo Clinic
- Meg Foundation for Pain
- No Needless Pain with recommendations for needle procedures based on age
- Pain Guide: What is Pain? Nociceptive Pain, Neuropathic Pain, and Nociplastic Pain
- Video: What is Chronic Pain?
- Video: Why Chronic Pain Persists: The New Science Explained (Predictive Coding)
