Chronic low back pain is no longer seen as simply a problem in the muscles or discs of your back. The world’s leaders in pain science, including Lorimer Moseley and David Butler at the Neuro Orthopedic Institute (NOI), have taught us that pain is a protective system, not a direct measure of tissue damage. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) now defines pain as a sensory and emotional experience from actual or 'perceived' danger, meaning every back pain story is shaped by your brain, your life, and your environment, as much as by your body itself.
Why Does Pain Become Persistent?
Science shows that with ongoing pain, the brain physically and functionally changes. Recent MRI studies have shown that people with chronic pain experience changes, sometimes even shrinking, in the very brain regions that process body signals (somatosensory), emotions (affective), and movement planning (right post-central gyrus, anterior insula, and others). Communication between these regions becomes less synchronized. This “reorganization” is not damage, but a sign that pain has taken over your nervous system’s GPS. It can lead to sensitivity, hypervigilance, and sensory “blind spots”, areas where the brain’s map of the body grows fuzzy (smudged), that have been shown to increase pain and it's distribution (spreading pain).
NOI’s Key Message: Pain Is Real, Even When Tissues Are Safe
Moseley and Butler put it simply: your pain is real, but it is also sometimes a “mistake” caused by an overprotective brain. Their Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) model uses stories, metaphors, and experiments to help people understand that threats (past injuries, beliefs, fear) can keep the pain system activated, even if the tissues themselves have healed.
The Role of Tape: Updating the Brain’s Map
This is where kinesiology tape fits in, not as a brace or a muscle “activator,” but as a safe, novel, and persistent sensory input. Tape essentially acts as a gentle “spotlight” for the nervous system, helping the brain rediscover and re-learn the area that’s been painful or on high alert. New research with EEG, MRI, and clinical trials shows that:
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Tape, combined with movement, improves pain and function more than movement alone, especially when paired with modern pain education.
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Imaging reveals that after several weeks of using kinesiology tape, sensory areas of the brain can actually become less hypersensitive, mirroring improved pain and confidence.
A Tangible Experience: The Body Scan with Tape
Whether you are living with chronic back pain or treating it as a clinician, try this simple, science-backed practice from Moseley and Butler’s work, now layered with the benefits of taping:
Step 1: Safe Application
Apply kinesiology tape (like RockTape) to the area of your lower back that has felt “off,” “numb,” “tight,” or disconnected. Apply a vertical strip of tape on either side of the painful area (low back), aiming for a light stretch (10-25%), enough to feel, but never enough to hurt or irritate. Here is an instructional video to follow for more information - Click Here
Step 2: Mindful Movement + Attention
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Close your eyes (or soften your gaze). If needed, place a palm over the tape and breathe deeply for a minute.
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Ask yourself, “What do I feel here (temperature, stretch, tingling, anything new or interesting?)”
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Without any judgment, slowly move your spine, rock your pelvis, shift side-to-side, or gently twist as if drawing a small figure eight with your hips.
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Each time you move, focus your attention on the changes in sensation under the tape: “Can I notice the outline more clearly? Is the area less blurry?” Over time, you can challenge yourself with more elaborate and meaningful movement to provide your brain (and associated maps) with the confidence to move, regaining ownership over your body.
Step 3: Reassure and Repeat
Remind yourself (or your patient): “This sensation is safe. My brain is learning the story of my back again.” Practice for 3-5 minutes, once or twice daily, especially before larger movements or exercise.
Why This Works
Moseley and Butler, as well as modern imaging studies, show that paying gentle, curious attention (especially with new touch like tape) literally helps “unsmudge” the brain’s blurry map and decrease the brain’s assessment of threat. Over time, this can reduce pain, build movement confidence, and support recovery, without relying on fear or brute force.
Takeaway
Kinesiology tape is not a passive fix. It is an active, evidence-informed tool for teaching the nervous system, and yourself, that it’s safe to move again. By pairing tape with movement, attention, and reassurance, you are not just managing symptoms, you are helping the brain rewrite its experience of the back and reclaim your sense of agency.
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