VA Eastern Colorado first in nation to offer new chronic pain therapy
PRESS RELEASE
June 23, 2025
Aurora, CO - VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System is the first VA site nationwide to offer Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), a new treatment that retrains how the brain responds to chronic pain.
Air Force Veteran Ed Lucero lived with chronic pain for decades, relying on methadone for 10 years before trying a new option through VA Eastern Colorado.
He recently completed an 8-week PRT group and now uses breathing techniques, meditation and other tools to manage his pain without opioids. He’s volunteering again, traveling and reconnecting with family and friends.
“I still get pain, but it’s different now,” Lucero said. “I don’t panic. Therapy changed how I think about my chronic pain.”
In an earlier civilian study of PRT, two-thirds of participants were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment. VA Eastern Colorado’s findings will be published later this year.
Read the full story here: https://www.va.gov/eastern-colorado-health-care/stories/therapy-changed-how-i-think-about-my-chronic-pain
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Nick Sanchez, Acting Public Affairs Officer