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Chronic pain is discomfort that persists for more than three months and affects millions of Americans. In Indiana, chronic pain prevalence increases as urbanization decreases, with higher rates in non-metropolitan areas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new report offers an alternative to traditional treatment: neuroplastic recovery therapy.

Dr. Dave Clarke, president of the Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms, said most people assume that pain and various forms of illness are caused by injury or disease. Another part of the body, he explained, could hold the answer.

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"There's a whole other category where pain can be generated by the brain," he said, "and that turns out to be responsible for symptoms in at least a quarter of the population and 40 percent of people who go to the doctor."

Neuroplastic symptoms are generated because of changes in the brain’s nerve pathways, Clarke added, and are linked to stress, trauma, emotions and other life challenges. The association's report indicates there is a tendency to have more than one symptom at a time.

Clarke noted that symptoms can show up as migraines, ear ringing, dizziness, visual disturbances, spine pain or irritable bowel syndrome. Extreme cases could appear as pseudo seizures or nerve problems.

Neuroplastic recovery therapy is a form of talk therapy that has two objectives: to alleviate symptoms, not just to help people live with them, and to shift attention from physical symptoms to what is going on in the brain.

Clarke said people should consider what's going on in their lives, as these experiences may be manifesting as symptoms because the brain is in a state of distress.

"Many of my patients, for example, have had a great deal of anger or fear or shame, grief or guilt that they're not fully aware of," he said. "So we try to help people connect with those emotions and put them into words."

Clarke has seen patients improve, which he said he believes is an incentive for them to work towards recovery. Some medical schools are familiar with the therapy, but it is not part of their formal curriculum.