Injury and Chronic Pain Care in Coeur d'Alene
When pain lingers after rest, medication, or therapy, your nervous system may be part of the story.
If you are dealing with an injury that never quite healed or pain that keeps returning, you have probably already tried the usual routes. Rest, stretching, medication, and physical therapy help many people. When they have not helped you, it is worth asking a different question.
At Inland Northwest Neurological Performance, Dr. Benjamin Pupo brings a nervous system perspective to chronic pain treatment and pain management in Coeur d'Alene. He evaluates how your brain and nervous system are managing pain, movement, and balance, alongside the muscles, joints, and connective tissue that hurt. That wider view helps us find contributors that are easy to overlook and build a plan around what we find.
What Are Musculoskeletal Injuries?
Knowing where pain starts is the first step toward changing it.
Your musculoskeletal system includes your muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissues. A musculoskeletal injury can follow a fall, a car accident, a sports injury, or months of repetitive strain at work or in the gym. Musculoskeletal pain symptoms often include aching or sharp pain, swelling, stiffness, weakness, and trouble moving the way you used to.
Most injuries settle as the tissue heals. Sometimes the pain outlasts the healing. Musculoskeletal pain that continues for three months or longer is generally considered chronic. At that stage the nervous system can become more sensitive, guarding certain movements and sending pain signals more easily. Joint stiffness, muscle guarding, and changed movement patterns can then keep the cycle going.
Because your brain and nervous system help coordinate every movement and every pain signal, we assess both sides. Musculoskeletal pain treatment can then address the injured tissue and the way your body is controlling it.
Meet Your Practitioner, Dr. Benjamin Pupo
Board-certified chiropractic neurologist and Certified Brain Injury Specialist
Dr. Pupo is a board-certified chiropractic neurologist (DACNB) and a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Western Washington University and a Doctorate of Chiropractic from the University of Western States, and he pursued advanced neuroscience training through the Carrick Institute of Graduate Studies. Chiropractic neurology studies how the brain and nervous system control movement and pain, which shapes how he approaches chronic back pain, neck pain, and joint pain.
Dr. Pupo is originally from the Inland Northwest. His work began with frustration at how often chronic pain and invisible injuries get missed, and that frustration became a commitment to understanding the nervous system and how it recovers. Today his care combines neurological, vestibular, and musculoskeletal rehabilitation with functional medicine and nutrition, so you are treated as a whole person and can see measurable progress along the way.
Conditions We Treat for Pain and Injury
Every plan is individualized, and this list is a starting point.
We offer chronic pain treatment for people with:
- Chronic back pain and chronic neck pain, including pain that has lasted for months or years
- Sprains and strains of muscles, ligaments, and tendons
- Chronic joint pain and tendon pain from overuse or repetitive strain
- Pain that continues after an injury has healed
- Musculoskeletal injuries from falls, sports, or accidents
- Headaches linked to neck tension or posture
- Pain that comes with dizziness, balance problems, or brain fog after an injury
Looking for back pain treatment or pain management in Coeur d'Alene but not sure whether your pain fits? Call us at 208-751-8820 and we will help you work out whether we are the right fit.
Our Process: What to Expect
Each step is explained in plain language, so you always know what comes next.
- Comprehensive evaluation. Your first visit is a two-hour evaluation. It includes a detailed review of your history, a hands-on bedside exam, and advanced testing such as videonystagmography (VNG), which shows how your brain and inner ear process balance and motion. Learn about our testing.
- Report of findings. We walk you through what we found and why it may be happening, then outline a care plan built around your goals.
- Personalized care. Your musculoskeletal pain treatment plan may combine targeted rehabilitation exercises, manual therapy, and neuromuscular reeducation, along with nutrition and lifestyle guidance. Depending on your needs, care may be a 5-day or 10-day neuro-intensive program, or individual 30 or 60 minute appointments spread over weeks to months.
- Progress and long-term management. Recovery is rarely a straight line. Progress often comes in waves, with strong days and the occasional setback, and that is normal. We reassess as we go and give you the tools to keep improving on your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
A chiropractic neurologist, sometimes called a neuro chiropractor, is a chiropractor who has completed advanced postgraduate training in clinical neurology and passed a board certification exam. Dr. Pupo holds the DACNB credential. Along with your muscles and joints, the evaluation looks at how your brain and nervous system are controlling movement, balance, and pain.
Pain can persist for many reasons, including incomplete tissue healing, joint stiffness, changed movement patterns, and a nervous system that has become more sensitive. Treatments that address only one of these may give partial or short-lived relief. Our evaluation looks for the contributors in your case so the plan can address them together.
Your first visit is a two-hour evaluation with Dr. Pupo. It includes a review of your medical history, a detailed bedside exam, and advanced testing when it is helpful. Afterward, we explain the findings in plain language and outline a personalized care plan.
It depends on the type of injury, how long you have had symptoms, and your overall health. Some patients notice changes within a few visits, while others need more time. Progress often comes in waves, with better days and temporary setbacks, which is a normal part of recovery. We reassess regularly and adjust your plan as you improve.
Musculoskeletal pain can come from trauma such as a fall or accident, overuse or repetitive strain, awkward posture, muscle tension, joint stiffness, or an injury that never fully healed. Over time, the nervous system can also become more sensitive and keep pain going after the tissue has recovered. An evaluation helps sort out which of these are involved in your case.
Yes. Dr. Pupo provides chronic pain treatment for patients in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and nearby communities. Care starts with a full evaluation of your muscles, joints, and nervous system, then a personalized plan for chronic back pain, neck pain, joint pain, or injury recovery.
Ready to Find the Source of Your Pain?
Book a consultation with Dr. Pupo in Coeur d'Alene, or call with questions before you decide.
We provide chronic pain treatment for patients from Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Spokane Valley, and communities across the Inland Northwest.
