When Pain Becomes the Disease — and How to Treat It
Lin Health Chief Medical Officer Explains Why Pain Can Persist Long After an Injury Heals
DENVER, CO, August 31, 2026 -- September is Pain Awareness Month, an opportunity to rethink one of our most basic assumptions about pain: that it always means something in the body is injured or damaged. What happens when an injury has healed, or there is no clear injury at all, but the pain persists? According to one neurologist, sometimes the pain itself can be the problem.
"Pain is always real, but it doesn't always mean there is ongoing damage in the body," says Dr. Anderson, Neurologist and Chief Medical Officer of Lin Health, the Denver, CO-based virtual health care company. "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 is known as central sensitization, a condition in which the brain and nervous system amplify pain signals. It can play a major role in persistent nociplastic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia, chronic migraine, sciatica, and IBS.
"Think of it like a fire alarm that has become too sensitive," Dr. Anderson says. "That high-pitched shriek is definitely real, but it may be going off when there isn't actually a fire."
The good news, Dr. Anderson says, is that evidence-based approaches like those offered by Lin Health can help change the way the brain and nervous system process pain.
"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."
This kind of brain-first approach addresses the nervous system processes that can contribute to persistent pain. At Lin Health, that approach is delivered through a medication-free virtual program combining behavioral therapy, one-on-one coaching, and structured daily modules, all delivered through an interactive app.
For Pain Awareness Month, Dr. Anderson says 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.
About Dr. Eric Anderson:
Dr. Eric Anderson is Chief Medical Officer of Lin Health and a nationally recognized leader in telemedicine, mobile health, and innovative care delivery models. A neurologist by training, he has spent his career developing physician-led, tech-enabled care systems designed to improve outcomes, expand access, and reduce friction in health care delivery. He was among the first to demonstrate that remote stroke assessment could be performed using a smartphone, helping establish the foundation for modern tele-neurology. He has since built and scaled multi-state virtual care platforms delivering multidisciplinary care for complex conditions. At Lin Health, Dr. Anderson is focused on advancing whole-person care models that address the biological, behavioral, and social drivers of chronic pain — moving beyond symptom management toward measurable recovery. Learn more at Lin.Health.
About Lin Health:
Lin Health is a physician-led virtual care platform focused on treating chronic pain and persistent symptoms through a whole-person, evidence-based approach. Founded in 2021, Lin Health 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 Lin Health model integrates physician evaluation and clinical oversight, structured behavioral pain recovery, personalized coaching and care plans, and continuous patient engagement. This approach aligns with clinical guidelines but is rarely implemented effectively in traditional systems due to access limitations, clinician shortages, and fragmented care pathways. Targeting the nervous system is highly effective, but this intervention is inaccessible to most patients and clinicians because it's very high-touch and not yet included in standard medical training. Lin Health bridges that gap, delivering scalable, affordable care that is broadly covered by insurance and designed to produce measurable outcomes. Learn more at Lin.Health.
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