Rewiring Chronic Pain: A Modern Understanding of Pain and Healing
By Dr. Michael Veselak, DC | Camarillo Functional Health
At Camarillo Functional Health, we believe chronic pain is not a permanent condition—it’s a sign of how your brain and body are communicating. Our approach blends Functional Medicine, Functional Neurology, and advanced restorative technologies to treat the body as an interconnected system—neurologically, structurally, metabolically, and emotionally.
Pain Is More Than What an X-Ray or MRI Shows
Many people are told, “Your MRI looks fine,” yet they still experience debilitating pain. Others have significant degeneration on imaging but feel relatively normal.
That’s because pain doesn’t live in the tissue—it’s produced and interpreted by the brain.
Once the brain and spinal cord become sensitized, they can keep generating pain long after the original injury has healed. In other words, the software can stay stuck in an alarm state even when the hardware looks fine.
The Science of Pain — Simplified
1. Ascending “Wind-Up”
When spinal cord neurons send too many pain messages upward, the brain perceives danger even from light touch or normal movement.
Think: the pain volume knob is stuck on high.
2. Descending Inhibition Failure
The brain’s built-in “brake system” normally sends calming signals down to dampen pain. Stress, trauma, poor sleep, and chronic inflammation weaken this pathway—so the brakes fail, and pain persists.
3. Neuroinflammation
The brain’s immune cells (microglia) release inflammatory chemicals like cytokines and glutamate, creating fatigue, brain fog, and persistent pain.
It’s like a fire alarm that won’t stop ringing.
How Fear Keeps the Pain Loop Alive
When the brain links movement or sensation to danger, the amygdala (fear center) activates the autonomic nervous system, increasing muscle tension and stress hormones.
This creates the pain-fear loop:
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Pain – Fear -Avoidance – More stiffness – More pain.
To break this cycle, we must retrain the brain to feel safe again—addressing the fear response neurologically, structurally, metabolically, and emotionally.
Until the brain perceives safety, the pain system stays on high alert.
The Bucket Theory of Pain
Your body is like a bucket.
Every stressor—injury, inflammation, poor diet, emotional strain, toxins, lack of sleep—adds water to that bucket.
When it overflows, you feel pain, fatigue, or brain fog.
Our role is to help you lower that water level through individualized, whole-body care.
A Comprehensive Approach to Chronic Pain
At Camarillo Functional Health, we integrate neuroscience, movement, oxygen therapy, and advanced modalities to restore balance and heal the nervous system.
Functional Neurology
We identify and activate underperforming regions of the brain through eye movement drills, balance exercises, and dual-task cognitive training.
These therapies rebuild the brain’s descending pain-inhibition pathways and re-establish normal sensory-motor control.
Functional Medicine
We evaluate inflammation, mitochondrial function, hormones, and nutrition—because cellular energy fuels healing.
Targeted support with nutrients such as magnesium, B vitamins, omega-3s, and antioxidants helps calm overactive pain circuits and optimize repair.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) — Fueling the Healing Brain
Healing requires oxygen, glucose, and activation—the three essentials of neuronal recovery.
HBOT floods the bloodstream and brain with concentrated oxygen, enhancing mitochondrial energy production, reducing neuroinflammation, and accelerating tissue repair.
When combined with neurological activation, HBOT dramatically improves outcomes for chronic pain, neuropathy, concussion, and post-surgical recovery.
Structural Care and Spinal Decompression
For patients with spinal stenosis, disc injury, or nerve compression, spinal decompression therapy has proven to be transformative.
By gently stretching the spine, it increases nutrient exchange, relieves pressure on nerves, and restores normal communication between the brain and body.
When paired with brain-based rehabilitation, decompression not only relieves symptoms but also retrains protective muscle patterns that perpetuate pain.
Hako-Med Horizontal Therapy for Neuropathy
The Hako-Med system uses frequency-specific electrical stimulation to enhance both nerve conduction and cellular metabolism simultaneously.
This “horizontal” approach promotes healing at a deeper level than traditional TENS therapy.
For patients with neuropathy, it improves circulation, sensation, and motor control—often restoring comfort and mobility without medication.
Photobiomodulation (Red-Light Therapy)
Low-level light therapy supports mitochondrial energy and reduces oxidative stress.
It’s particularly effective in restoring cellular metabolism and reducing nerve inflammation.
Neurofeedback & Vagus Nerve Stimulation
These tools help retrain the brain’s stress circuits, balance the autonomic nervous system, and build resilience against chronic tension and pain amplification.
Why This Works
The nervous system thrives on proper fuel (oxygen and glucose) and activation (movement and sensory input).
Our therapies ensure all three are delivered in balance.
This combination—oxygenation, nutrition, and neurological stimulation—creates the environment for neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to rewire and heal.
What Sets Us Apart
What makes Camarillo Functional Health unique is not just our technology—it’s our philosophy.
We understand pain from every angle:
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Neurological: How the brain and spinal cord process pain signals
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Structural: How movement, posture, and biomechanics influence nerve flow
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Metabolic: How inflammation, oxygen, and cellular energy impact healing
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Emotional: How fear, trauma, and stress perpetuate pain loops
With decades of advanced training in functional medicine, neurorehabilitation, and integrative therapies, our team has built a system that treats the person, not just the pain.
We’ve seen remarkable results in patients with neuropathy, spinal stenosis, fibromyalgia, post-surgical pain, and chronic fatigue—people who were told “nothing more can be done.”
Our success lies in understanding that the nervous system can always change—with the right input, fuel, and environment.
A Message of Hope
Pain is real, but it is not permanent.
When the brain feels safe, the body can heal.
Through our integrative model—combining neuroscience, oxygen therapy, metabolic repair, and brain-based rehabilitation—we help patients move, think, and live with renewed freedom.
At Camarillo Functional Health, we’re not just treating pain.
We’re retraining the brain, rebuilding the body, and restoring lives.
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