September is Pain Awareness Month, a time to challenge the common assumption that pain always indicates physical injury or damage. According to Dr. Eric Anderson, a neurologist and Chief Medical Officer of Lin Health, a virtual healthcare company based in Denver, CO, persistent pain can sometimes be a disease in itself, driven by the brain and nervous system rather than ongoing tissue damage.
"Pain is always real, but it doesn't always mean there is ongoing damage in the body," says Dr. Anderson. "Sometimes, the brain and nervous system can become stuck in a persistent pain-alarm loop, continuing to send danger signals long after an injury has healed, or when there is no injury at all." This phenomenon is known as central sensitization, a condition where the nervous system amplifies pain signals, playing a major role in conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic migraine, sciatica, and IBS.
Dr. Anderson uses a fire alarm analogy to explain central sensitization: "That high-pitched shriek is definitely real, but it may be going off when there isn't actually a fire." The pain is real, but the underlying issue is an overreactive alarm system in the brain, not an active fire in the body.
The good news, Dr. Anderson says, is that evidence-based approaches like those offered by Lin Health can help retrain the nervous system to respond less intensely to pain signals. "The pain is very real, and the goal is to help the nervous system become less reactive to signals that it has learned to interpret as dangerous," he explains. This brain-first approach addresses the neurological processes that contribute to persistent pain, offering a medication-free virtual program that combines behavioral therapy, one-on-one coaching, and structured daily modules, all delivered through an interactive app.
For Pain Awareness Month, Dr. Anderson emphasizes that understanding central sensitization can be an important first step for people living with persistent pain. "The pain is always real, but understanding why it persists may open the door to more effective approaches to treatment," he says. By shifting focus from symptom management to addressing the root cause in the nervous system, patients may find new pathways to recovery.
Lin Health, founded in 2021, partners with leading health systems such as Mayo Clinic and WellSpan Health to deliver multidisciplinary care that addresses the biological, behavioral, and social drivers of chronic conditions. The model integrates physician evaluation, structured behavioral pain recovery, personalized coaching, and continuous patient engagement. According to Lin Health, this approach aligns with clinical guidelines but is rarely implemented effectively in traditional systems due to access limitations, clinician shortages, and fragmented care pathways. Lin Health aims to bridge that gap by delivering scalable, affordable care covered by insurance and designed to produce measurable outcomes.
Dr. Anderson, a nationally recognized leader in telemedicine and mobile health, was among the first to demonstrate that remote stroke assessment could be performed using a smartphone, helping establish the foundation for modern tele-neurology. At Lin Health, he focuses on advancing whole-person care models that address the biological, behavioral, and social drivers of chronic pain, moving beyond symptom management toward measurable recovery. For more information, visit Lin.Health or Lin Health's press kit.
