Back in Control: A Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain (2nd Edition) – A New Paradigm for HealingBack in Control by Dr. David Hanscom challenges the conventional approach to chronic pain, revealing how neuroscience, emotional regulation, and nervous system retraining can help patients break free from suffering—without relying solely on surgery or medication. This book is highly relevant to the Center for Integrative Neuroscience, as it aligns with our focus on trauma-informed care, neuromodulation, and the mind-body connection in healing chronic conditions.
How This Book Connects to Our Work
✔ Beyond the Biomedical Model – Like our work in integrative healthcare, Hanscom challenges the outdated belief that chronic pain is purely a structural issue, emphasizing nervous system dysregulation and unprocessed trauma as key drivers.
✔ The Role of the Brain & Stress Physiology – Chronic pain is fueled by stress hormones, hypervigilance, and unresolved emotional trauma, all of which disrupt metabolism, neuroplasticity, and immune function—core areas we address through integrative neuroscience.
✔ The Systemic Failures of Pain Management—Hanscom critiques the medical system’s over-reliance on invasive procedures and pharmaceuticals, echoing our concerns about unnecessary spinal surgeries, medical gaslighting, and the suppression of non-surgical treatment options.
✔ Empowering Patients Through Neuroscience & Self-Regulation—This book provides a roadmap for reclaiming control through nervous system retraining, metabolic support, and psychological healing—approaches we advocate for in our work.
A Critical Resource for Those Who Have Witnessed Medical HarmFor individuals who have personally experienced or witnessed the consequences of rushed, unnecessary medical interventions, Back in Control serves as both validation and a practical guide for true healing. It reinforces the need for a holistic, patient-centered model—one that values autonomy, education, and the integration of neuroscience-based strategies for long-term recovery.
There is no need to spend billions of dollars looking for a cure for chronic pain. The solutions have been known for decades with many people breaking free from its grip. Unfortunately, mainstream medicine has and continued to ignore the physiological and neuroscience data that has revealed the answers. Chronic pain is a complex neurological problem, which is, "....an embedded memory that becomes linked with more and more life experiences, and the memory can't be erased."
Back in Control provides a framework for you to understand the nature of chronic pain and will allow you to find your own solution based on well-established practices. Since it is a complex problem and you are a unique human being, the one person that can solve it is you. The principles apply to chronic pain involving in any part of the body or organ system. The process evolved from the author's own severe 15-year experience with chronic pain.
The concepts provide a context of care and connects you with other highly-regarded professionals who are pioneers in the efforts to change the pain treatment paradigm. Some of them include Dr. John Sarno, author of Mind Over Back Pain, Dr. Howard Schubiner, who wrote Unlearn Your Pain, Dr. David Burns, a Stanford psychiatrist and author of Feeling Good, Dr. Fred Luskin performed research on forgiveness at Stanford and authored Forgive for Good, David Allen who wrote a brilliant book on organizing your life, Getting Things Done, and Dr. Anthony DeMello, whose last memoirs are presented in The Way to Love, which introduces you to the healing power of awareness.
The essence of solving physical or mental pain is connecting you to your own capacity to heal, which allows you to feel safe. Your body's chemistry is optimized with profound effects on your pain and sense of well-being. These concepts have been deeply researched by Dr. Steven Porges, the originator of The Polyvagal Theory.
Step into your new life with this largely self-directed process. The action plan is presented on his website, backincontrol.com.