Chasing the Pain — Tracking Pain in EFT

Overview

Chasing the Pain — literally "pursuing the pain" or "tracking the pain" — is one of the fundamental EFT techniques developed by Gary Craig in the mid-1990s. It holds a unique place in the EFT therapeutic toolkit as it directly bridges physical pain and its emotional roots, demonstrating tangibly and often spectacularly that body and mind are inseparably linked.

The central phenomenon of this technique is pain migration: when tapping is applied to a localized physical pain, it frequently changes location, intensity, shape, or sensory quality instead of simply diminishing in place. This displacement, far from being a treatment failure, constitutes a sign that the work is progressing — that the emotional layers underlying the pain are reorganizing.

Craig developed this technique from repeated clinical observations: patients with chronic pain systematically reported that their pain "moved" after a few tapping rounds. A right shoulder pain became neck tension, then pressure behind the eyes, then a lump in the throat — until the patient suddenly remembered an emotional event linked to the pain's first appearance. This observation led Craig to formulate one of his most famous principles: "Physical pain is often the messenger of an unresolved emotion. When you chase the pain, you follow the emotional thread to its source."

Scientifically, the Chasing the Pain technique draws on the biopsychosocial model of pain, now widely accepted in medicine. The pioneering study by Brattberg (2008), published in the Clinical Journal of Pain, evaluated EFT's effect on fibromyalgia — a chronic diffuse pain syndrome strongly linked to stress and emotional trauma. After 8 weeks of EFT treatment including Chasing the Pain, participants showed an 86% reduction in fibromyalgia symptoms measured by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), along with significant decreases in pain catastrophizing, associated anxiety, and depression.

Additional studies confirmed EFT's efficacy on physical pain: Church and Brooks (2010) demonstrated a 68% reduction in pain intensity for chronic tension headache patients after 2 EFT sessions including Chasing the Pain. Bougea et al. (2013) observed significant migraine reduction in frequency and intensity after 8 weeks. Ortner et al. (2014) showed chronic low back pain sufferers experienced 50% pain intensity reduction and 41% associated emotional distress reduction after 4 sessions.

The technique is now considered an essential tool in every EFT practitioner's toolkit, and its thorough understanding is a prerequisite for Level 2 certifications (AAMET, EFT International). It is particularly relevant in the current opioid crisis context, offering a non-pharmacological, non-invasive alternative for chronic pain management.

Core Principles

• Pain as emotional signal: in the EFT model, physical pain is not solely a nociceptive signal. It frequently represents the somatic language of an unexpressed or unresolved emotion. The body uses pain to draw attention to an emotional conflict the mind refuses or cannot consciously process. This concept aligns with Dr. John Sarno's work (Tension Myositis Syndrome — TMS) and Peter Levine's (Somatic Experiencing), documenting how repressed emotions manifest as chronic physical symptoms.
• The displacement phenomenon: when tapping reduces emotional charge encoded at a specific pain point, the nervous system "unmasks" the next layer. The pain does not disappear, it moves — revealing another aspect of the underlying emotional complex. Each pain location represents a different aspect of the overall emotional complex. The practitioner must "chase" the pain through successive displacements, like an archaeologist clearing layer after layer.
• Detailed sensory characterization: a key protocol element involves asking the patient to describe pain with unusual precision — not only location and intensity (SUDS), but shape (round, pointed, spread), color (red, black, gray), texture (burning, stinging, dull, pulsating), movement (static, pulsing, radiating), and even "personality" (aggressive, insistent, quiet). This detailed characterization activates the brain's representational circuits and allows tapping to more precisely target the neuronal pain component.
• SUDS scale applied to pain: using the 0-10 scale to measure subjective pain intensity at each protocol stage provides objective, quantifiable feedback. SUDS changes between rounds — even minimal — serve as the practitioner's compass. SUDS decrease with pain displacement is an excellent prognostic sign; stagnating SUDS without displacement suggests the emotional component has not yet been reached.
• Location-emotion correlation: experienced EFT practitioners observe recurring correlations between pain location and underlying emotion type. Chest pain often links to grief and loss; low back pain to fear and insecurity; neck pain to overload and excessive responsibility; abdominal pain to visceral fear and relational conflicts; migraines to perfectionism and control. These correlations are not universal but provide valuable exploration leads.
• Convergence toward the founding memory: in the most complete cases, chasing pain through successive displacements leads to spontaneous emergence of an emotional memory — often an event the patient had "forgotten" or never connected to their current pain. This memory represents the founding event where emotion was initially encoded in the body as physical tension. Its identification and treatment through tapping generally produces deep, lasting relief.

Technical Details

Other names

Chasing the Pain, Chase the Pain Technique, Pain Tracking, Following the Pain

Creator

Gary Craig, mid-1990s, documented in the original EFT manual

Origin

Craig's clinical observations of physical pain behavior during EFT tapping

Typical session duration

30 to 75 minutes depending on complexity and number of pain displacements

Number of points

Standard EFT sequence: 8 main points + Karate Chop point (setup)

Application level

Intermediate to advanced in clinical practice; usable in self-practice for mild to moderate pain without identified traumatic component

Measurement tools

SUDS scale 0-10 for intensity; sensory descriptors (shape, color, texture, location); body mapping of displacements

Compatibility

Compatible with physiotherapy, osteopathy, pain medicine, somatic psychotherapy. Complementary to pharmacological treatments.

Recommended sessions

1 to 3 sessions for acute or recent pain; 6 to 12 sessions for complex chronic pain; maintenance follow-up for fibromyalgic syndromes

Evidence base

Brattberg (2008): -86% fibromyalgia; Church and Brooks (2010): -68% headaches; Bougea et al. (2013): migraine reduction; Ortner et al. (2014): -50% low back pain

Main Indications

• Fibromyalgia: the primary indication for Chasing the Pain. This chronic diffuse pain syndrome, characterized by multiple migratory tender points, is strongly correlated with PTSD, childhood trauma, and repressed emotions. Brattberg's study (2008) remains the reference: 86% symptom reduction maintained at 6 months.
• Migraines and tension headaches: migraines frequently have an emotional component — triggered by stress, frustration, perfectionism, or unresolved conflicts. Chasing the Pain tracks the characteristic migration from temple to orbit, orbit to neck, neck to shoulders, each displacement revealing a different emotional aspect.
• Chronic low back pain: non-specific chronic low back pain (without identifiable organic lesion) is now recognized as strongly influenced by psychosocial factors. Chasing the Pain frequently reveals emotions of fear, financial insecurity, lack of support, or repressed anger.
• Post-operative pain: residual pain after surgery may carry emotional components linked to surgical fear, vulnerability, and hospitalization trauma. Chasing the Pain helps separate legitimate nociceptive from amplifying emotional components.
• Endometriosis: chronic pelvic pain presents strong emotional components linked to femininity, fertility, and gynecological trauma experiences.
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome: IBS abdominal pain is intimately linked to stress and emotions via the brain-gut axis. Chasing the Pain often reveals visceral fear, anticipatory anxiety, and body-related humiliation memories.
• Somatoform pain: pain without identifiable organic cause, diagnosed as somatoform disorders. These pains are by definition emotionally originated and constitute the ideal Chasing the Pain indication.
• Phantom pain: pain felt in an amputated limb is a fascinating neurosomatic phenomenon where Chasing the Pain can bring significant relief through work on limb grief, amputation trauma, and body schema reorganization.

Session Protocol

The Chasing the Pain protocol follows an iterative loop structure where each tapping round is followed by reassessment and potential refocusing on a new location:

Step 1 — Initial Location and Characterization (5-10 minutes)

The practitioner invites the patient to focus attention on their primary pain and describe it as precisely as possible. This characterization phase is crucial as it activates the brain's representational circuits: exact location ("point with your finger"), SUDS intensity (0-10), shape (round, pointed, spread), color (red, black, gray), texture (burning, stinging, dull, pulsating), size (golf ball, fist, plate-sized), and movement (static, pulsing, radiating).

Step 2 — Targeted Setup Statement (2 minutes)

The patient taps the Karate Chop point while repeating 3 times a setup phrase integrating pain descriptors: "Even though I have this [color] [shape] pain in [location], and it is at [SUDS]/10, I deeply and completely accept myself."

Step 3 — Tapping Round on the Pain (5-8 minutes)

The patient goes through 8 points tapping 7-10 times each while maintaining attention on the pain with descriptive reminder phrases. It is essential the patient maintains attention on the physical sensation itself — not thoughts about the pain.

Step 4 — Reassessment and Displacement Detection (3-5 minutes)

After each round, the practitioner asks in order: new SUDS, same location?, any changes in shape/color/texture?, any emotion/memory/thought appearing? Four scenarios may occur: (A) pain decreases in place — continue at same location; (B) pain displaces — chase to new location; (C) emotion emerges — pivot to emotional work; (D) SUDS stagnates — refine characterization or explore emotional associations.

Step 5 — Iteration and Convergence (15-40 minutes)

The cycle repeats as needed. In typical cases, pain displaces 3 to 7 times before converging to resolution. A classic Craig case illustrates: a chronic migraine patient starts at 9/10 pulsating red behind left eye. After 2 rounds, pain moves to left temple (7/10, pointed, orange). Two more rounds: moves to neck (5/10, dull, gray). Two more: descends to right shoulder (4/10, heavy, black). Patient begins crying, remembering a childhood episode where father grabbed her violently by the right shoulder. Tapping then targets this specific memory. After memory resolution (SUDS 0), all pain disappeared — including the initial migraine.

Step 6 — Verification and Consolidation (5-10 minutes)

Once pain reaches SUDS 0-1 at its final location, the practitioner verifies all previous locations. If any previous location reactivates pain, return for a final round. If all locations are neutral, the session is considered complete.

Variations and Adaptations

• Chasing the Pain with emotional verbalization: variant where the practitioner actively encourages expressing emotions emerging at each displacement, accelerating founding memory emergence.
• Chasing the Pain with body mapping: the practitioner draws successive displacements on a body diagram with sensory descriptors and SUDS, creating a visual map helping patients see the pain's path and facilitating body-emotion awareness.
• Guided self-practice: for mild to moderate pain without identified traumatic component, patients can self-apply with journaling. Limited to non-complex pain, supervised initially.
• Video session Chasing the Pain: particularly well-suited for teleconsultation as it relies primarily on verbal guidance and self-tapping.
• Combined with Movie Technique: when a memory emerges during Chasing the Pain, pivot to Movie Technique for progressive, protected memory processing, then return to verify impact on residual pain.
• Chasing the Pain in physiotherapy: some EFT-trained physiotherapists integrate the technique during rehabilitation, combining physical tissue mobilization with tapping on emerging emotions, producing synergistic results.

Contraindications and Precautions

• Undiagnosed organic pain: the most important precaution. Before applying Chasing the Pain, ensure the pain has been medically evaluated and no serious organic pathology (tumor, fracture, infection, coronary syndrome, aneurysm) requires urgent medical treatment. Chasing the Pain must never delay medical diagnosis.
• Associated complex trauma: when physical pain is the "lid" on severe trauma (physical/sexual abuse, torture, domestic violence), its unmasking can provoke intense abreaction or dissociation. The practitioner must be trauma-trained with emotional regulation tools.
• Acute post-surgical pain: in the immediate post-operative period, pain serves legitimate protective function. Chasing the Pain is discouraged in the first post-operative days without surgeon approval.
• Patients on heavy analgesics: patients on opioids or strong analgesics may have altered pain perception. SUDS may not faithfully reflect underlying emotional state. Practice is possible but medication must be considered in results interpretation.
• Hypochondria and health anxiety: in patients with excessive pain anxiety, Chasing the Pain can paradoxically increase body hypervigilance. The practitioner should avoid reinforcing body sensation fixation.
• Self-practice on complex chronic pain: self-application is discouraged for chronic pain associated with traumatic history due to risk of unaccompanied traumatic material emergence.