In an article published by the American Council on Science and Health, Dr. Lynn Webster, a senior fellow at the Center for U.S. Policy, pushed back on the idea that pain primarily “begins in the brain,” which has been popularized in recent media coverage of Sanjay Gupta’s book, “It Doesn’t Have to Hurt.” Dr. Webster argues that this framing oversimplifies pain and risks reinforcing stigma that can lead to undertreatment, explaining that while pain is ultimately experienced in the brain, its sources often originate in the body, such as injury, inflammation, or nerve damage, and effective care must address these underlying mechanisms. Dr. Webster emphasizes that pain management should be individualized and grounded in biology, not broad “brain-first” approaches or claims that interventions like mindfulness can replace medical treatments in all cases. He warns that reducing pain to a purely psychological or central process can result in dismissing patients’ experiences and limiting access to necessary care, and instead calls for a balanced, multimodal approach that combines treating physical causes with supportive behavioral strategies.
Read the rebuttal.