Understanding Central Sensitization: When your Nervous System Turns Up the Pain Volume

If you or your child live with pain that never seems to stop—pain that doesn’t show up on scans, doesn’t respond to medication, and leaves everyone puzzled—you are not alone. Many families go through years of uncertainty, seeing specialist after specialist, searching for answers. And then, sometimes, they finally hear a term that brings the pieces together: central sensitzation (CS). For years we thought my daughter just had a migraine that never stopped. Then we realized that she had an underlying diagnosis of amplified pain syndrome (AMPS), which is a form of CS. If you're interested, you can read more about our story.

What Is Central Sensitization?

Central sensitization is an umbrella term used to describe a group of pain conditions where the nervous system becomes overly sensitive, causing pain signals to be amplified.

It can include conditions such as:

• Amplified Pain Syndrome (AMPS)

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

• Fibromyalgia

• Allodynia

• Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)

• Chronic daily migraines or headaches

• Widespread musculoskeletal pain

• Localized amplified pain (like ongoing limb, back, or abdominal pain)

  
  

Each of these can look different on the surface, but underneath, they share the same root issue: the pain alarm system in the body has become stuck on high alert.

What’s Happening in the Body

In a healthy nervous system, pain serves a protective purpose—it warns us of harm so we can rest and heal. But in CS, the brain and nerves continue to send pain signals even after the original injury, illness, or stress has passed.

It’s like the body’s alarm system has been accidentally set to maximum sensitivity. Now, even safe or gentle sensations—like touch, movement, loud sounds, bright lights, or temperature changes—can trigger the same pain response as an actual injury. The result is very real pain that feels constant, unpredictable, and overwhelming, even though there’s no ongoing tissue damage.

A Simple Analogy: The Car Alarm

Imagine your body’s pain system like a car alarm. Normally, the alarm goes off only if someone tries to break in. But in CS, the alarm becomes too sensitive—it starts blaring if a leaf falls on the hood or if someone walks too close. That’s what’s happening inside the body: the alarm system is working too well. It’s still trying to protect you—it’s just reacting to things that aren’t dangerous anymore.

Common Triggers or Starting Points

Central sensitization can be triggered by many different things, including:

• An illness or infection

• A physical injury or concussion

• Surgery or a medical procedure

• Chronic stress or emotional overwhelm

• Periods of inactivity or prolonged pain

Often, there’s not just one cause—it’s a combination of physical, emotional, and nervous system stressors that lead the brain to stay in a state of protection long after it needs to.

Central sensitization can completely disrupt daily life—making it hard to attend school/work, see friends, or participate in normal routines. It can also be confusing for others to understand because the pain is invisible. But invisible doesn’t mean imaginary.

Why Understanding Central Sensitization Matters

When you start to understand that your chronic pain might be caused by an oversensitive nervous system something powerful happens: The fear starts to loosen. Maybe there isn't anything deeper that is wrong with you. Maybe you can push yourself a little more without causing any damage.

What Helps: Retraining the Nervous System

The key to recovery from CS isn’t found in medication or rest—it’s found in retraining the body and brain to move and function again. This is the foundation of functional pain rehabilitation, and it often includes four main elements:

🧠 Education

Learning that pain doesn’t always mean harm, helps calm the brain’s alarm system. Understanding what’s happening is the first step in changing it.

🏃 Gentle, Consistent Movement

Movement teaches the brain that the body is safe. We start small—sometimes with standing up, brushing teeth, or walking to the end of the driveway—and build gradually through slow graded exposure.

🌬️ Nervous System Regulation

Doing things that put you at ease, being outside, routine, sleep, art, and spending time with pets can help the nervous system shift out of survival mode. This calms the fight-flight-freeze response that keeps pain signals firing.

💬 Emotional Support

Pain is not only physical—it’s emotional. Counselling, spending time with friends, and family education help rebuild safety, connection, and confidence.

The Functional Approach: Focus on What You Can Do

One of the hardest shifts in central sensitization recovery is moving away from the rollercoaster of doing more on the days you have less pain and less (or nothing) on the days you have more pain. Instead you need to start building up your window of tolerance and start building your capacity to increase your function in life regardless of pain fluctuation.

We start by holding onto the things you can already do every single day, regardless of pain levels (like brushing teeth, eating a meal, or reading a page of a book), and slowly add small, realistic weekly steps (microgoals). Over time, these baby steps help expand your window of tolerance and desensitize the pain system. And eventually, the brain usually turns the volume down on your pain signals. This is slow, steady, nervous system work—and it’s incredibly powerful.

A Message of Hope

If you or your child are living with central sensitization, please know this: Your body is not broken. Your nervous system is simply overprotecting you—and it can learn to calm down again.

Healing happens not through pushing or forcing, but through gentle consistency and small, weekly steps - so small so as not to overwhelm your nervous system and cause a pain flare.

You can retrain your body to trust the world again. And that’s where healing begins.

You’re not alone—and it’s not all in your head. Understanding what’s happening in the nervous system is often the first step toward healing. In my counselling practice, I support children, teens, and adults living with central sensitization and other chronic pain conditions to rebuild function, calm the nervous system, and gently expand what’s possible again—one step at a time.

There is always hope, even when pain feels endless.

~ Carla

Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)

Chronic Pain Coach