Understand the Bigger Picture Behind Pain
Whether you're a provider, patient, educator, or student, these curated resources help deepen your understanding of chronic pain—from neuroscience to policy trends. This is just a starting point for continuing your exploration.
For Patients
Understand What’s Really Going On
You’re not imagining it—and you’re not alone. These resources are here to help you understand how pain works in the body and brain, why it persists, and what you can do to take back control.
- Intro to Pain Science – Why the brain matters more than you think
- Watch & Learn – Short videos that explain pain in plain language
- Where to Find a Provider You Can Trust
- Questions to Ask Your Provider – Take these to your next appointment
For Educators
Bring Pain Science to the Next Generation
Use Pain, Misunderstood in the classroom or lab to spark discussion and deepen understanding among students in physical therapy, medicine, nursing, and psychology.
- Classroom Integration Kit – Lesson plans, discussion prompts, and activities.
- Educational Screening License – Bring the film to your program.
- Recommended Reading – Core texts and academic articles from the documentary.
- Research Data & Visuals – Use graphs and statistics from the film in teaching.
Support students in building a modern, compassionate understanding of pain.
For Providers
Transform Your Approach to Pain Care
Whether you’re a PT, OT, MD, or PA, these tools help reframe chronic pain beyond biomechanics. Improve outcomes and patient trust with research-backed frameworks.
- Foundational Research – Pain neuroscience education (PNE), BPS model
- Clinical Application – How to shift language, expectations, and behavior
- Continuing Education – Access PNE courses and clinical training
- Patient Handouts – Print-ready visuals and metaphors from the film
- Guides to De-prescribing Conversations – Addressing opioids with empathy
Further Reading & Scientific References
This film was built on years of pain science research. Start with these foundational texts and studies mentioned in the film:
- The Cost of Misunderstanding Pain (Graph)
- Increase in opioid prescriptions: Between 1999 and 2019, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed in the United States increased by 375%, from 76 million to 282 million. (Source: CDC, Opioid Prescribing in the United States)
- Rise in chronic pain prevalence: Between 1999 and 2019, the prevalence of chronic pain among adults in the United States increased from 19.6% to 22.1%. (Source: CDC, Chronic Pain in the United States)
- Increase in opioid use disorder: Between 2013 and 2019, the number of people in the United States with an opioid use disorder increased from 1.6 million to 2.1 million. (Source: NIH, Opioid Use Disorder)
- Growing burden of pain: In 2019, an estimated 20.4% of adults in the United States experienced chronic pain, which translates to approximately 50 million people. (Source: CDC, Chronic Pain in the United States)
- Chronic pain affects 1 in 5 adults: In 2019, an estimated 20.4% of adults in the United States experienced chronic pain, which is a significant increase from 1999 when the prevalence was 19.6%. (Source: CDC, Chronic Pain in the United States)