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The Hidden Reason Pain and Old Habits Stick - The Pain Neural Tag

applied neurology chronic pain neural tags Sep 11, 2025
Illustration of brain pathways showing how neural tags influence chronic pain and movement patterns

Why Pain and Habits Feel So Hard to Change

If you’ve ever wondered why pain lingers long after an injury heals, or why old movement patterns keep coming back, the answer may surprise you.

It’s not just your muscles or willpower.

It’s your brain.

 

Your brain builds what neuroscientists call neural tags (or neurotags). These are networks of neurons that fire together to encode habits, pain responses, and even trauma.

Once a tag is reinforced, the brain runs it automatically.

Like a well-worn path.

 

That’s why:

  • Pain can persist even after tissues recover.
  • Movement dysfunction repeats despite stretching and strengthening.
  • Trauma responses and anxiety fire instantly, even when you “know” you’re safe.

 

 

The Key to Change: Repetition

Here’s the good news. Just as the brain can build tags, it can rebuild them.

Through repetition, new neural tags grow stronger while old ones weaken through a process called synaptic pruning.

Over time, the new circuit takes over.

 

The challenge?

Trauma can form a neural tag instantly, but building a new one takes consistent practice.

This is why change feels slow at first. 

You are asking your brain to take a new path while the old highway is still dominant.

 

Want the Full in-depth explanation on chronic pain, solutions, and more?

This short blog only scratches the surface. In our full article, we dive deeper into:

  • How chronic pain is wired into neural tags
  • Why trauma creates “one-trial learning”
  • How repetition rewires both pain and behavior
  • Practical tools to start building new neural tags

 

For the full in-depth education on pain and neural tags, sign up for our free NLN Newsletter here:

 

You’ll get immediate access plus weekly insights on applied neurology, chronic pain, and brain-based coaching, and a few FREE EDUCATIONAL GIFTS.

Our 3-hour Masterclasses on Applied Neurology, our Assess Reassess process, and how to integrate applied neurology into your practice, plus more.

 

 

 

 

 

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