Dr. Howard Schubiner's Pain Assessment Video Series
If you've ever wondered whether your chronic pain is structural — meaning caused by actual tissue damage — or neuroplastic — meaning generated by learned patterns in the brain — this free video series was made for exactly that question.
Dr. Howard Schubiner, co-researcher on the Boulder Back Pain Study and author of Unlearn Your Pain, created this structured educational series to walk everyday people through the same assessment process he uses with his own patients.
What the Series Covers
The series is organized into modules that build on each other logically. It begins with the fundamentals of how the brain generates pain, then moves into how stress and emotions create and maintain pain signals through neural circuits. Later modules walk through exactly how a doctor assesses whether symptoms are structural or brain-generated — including how to rule out structural problems and how to identify the telltale signs of a neuroplastic condition.
Many doctors give patients incorrect information — especially about back and neck pain. Studies show that 85% of neck and back pain is not caused by structural damage. Signs that a symptom is neuroplastic include pain that arises without a preceding injury, or pain that endures long after an injury would have healed. Soft tissue injuries typically heal within weeks; even serious injuries like ACL tears or broken bones heal within months. Pain lasting a year or more is considered functional — it is no longer caused by physical damage.
Why This Series Matters
Most people living with chronic pain have never been given this framework. They've been handed diagnoses based on MRI findings that may have nothing to do with their actual pain, and told there's little that can be done. This series offers a different lens — grounded in neuroscience — showing how the brain can produce a full range of symptoms and how those patterns can be identified and reversed.
This is the same foundational knowledge that underpins everything we do at Santa Barbara Chronic Pain Solutions — and Dr. Schubiner has made it completely free.
🌎 También disponible en español
We're proud to share that this full video series is also available in Spanish — a meaningful resource for our Spanish-speaking community here in Santa Barbara and beyond.
👉 Ver la serie completa en YouTube en español
