Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Serena Sterling, who trained in clinical psychology and is a certified life coach, about the evolution of her approach to treating chronic pain. She describes a neuro-emotional technique which uses signals from the body to help determine what feelings are being suppressed that might be at the root of the patient’s chronic pain. She also shares her...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Georgie Oldfield, a leading UK physiotherapist. She shares her insights about the key factors in healing chronic pain and the importance of a patient-physician relationship based on trust. She also discusses the evolution of the organization she created to help clinicians and psychologists learn these techniques and spread awareness...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Georgie Oldfield, a leading physiotherapist and a pioneer in treating chronic pain using a patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach. She discusses her own story of overcoming chronic pain and how she developed an approach to treatment based on spending more time with and listening to patients to better understand what was happening in their lives....

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. David Tauben. He shares his insight that the key to healing chronic pain is for physicians to understand the isolation of patients with chronic pain and how important it is for them to listen to their patients. Ultimately, he believes, they must realize that the patient is the expert with respect to their experience of chronic pa...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. David Tauben, a pioneer in treating chronic pain holistically, using an interdisciplinary approach. He shares how he developed his insights while working in the first pain medicine department in the country. He also discusses the barriers he has faced in creating a new pain curriculum based on the holistic approach for the next generation of physic...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and his wife, family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They discuss how family relationships trigger us the most, and how the reactions to these triggers can amplify the experience of pain.  Through a process of empathic listening, trust can be built and the needs of both the patient in pain and their family m...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and his wife, family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They share their approach to healing through building stronger human relationships and connections. They explain that having to live in a state of “artificial harmony” can be toxic and negative for our health, because it requires constant vigilance and draws down our immune...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Jake Eagle, a psychotherapist and founder of the Live Conscious community. He talks in detail about the three levels of consciousness that we go through on our healing journey. The first level is safety consciousness, where we achieve a feeling of safety from threat. In the next level, heart consciousness, we live in a state of grati...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Jake Eagle, a psychotherapist and founder of the Live Conscious community. He discusses how patients dealing with chronic pain often see themselves as victims and the world as “acting” upon them. He works with them to change their language to the present tense and avoid praise and blame, as a way of reclaiming their personal power and making meaning in...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Chris Dimock, CEO of Elation, an app development company. He provides an overview of the DOC app and the design elements that went into making the app flexible so that it can be personalized to each individual’s needs. He also describes the tools available in the DOC app, and how the app can be used as part of the process an individu...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Chris Dimock, CEO of Elation, an app development company. He discusses how his background in psychology, organization development and digital technology informed his passion for creating apps that use artificial intelligence and digital coaching to solve problems in healthcare. He explains how he is using principles of complexity science to tackle such...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Tom Sullivan about his car accident, surgeries and subsequent journey through chronic pain. After enduring 27 surgeries and trying treatments and medications that didn’t work, he discovered Dr. Hanscom’s book, Back in Control, and applied the DOC principles to cure his chronic pain. His is an incredible story of healing and resilience against very cons...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Geralyn Datz, a clinical health psychologist specializing in the treatment of pain. She shares two very moving patient stories of recovery from severe trauma and chronic pain that illustrate the importance of the patient’s outlook in the healing process, as well as the power of a patient-centered approach to treatment. Dr Geralyn...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Geralyn Datz, a clinical health psychologist specializing in the treatment of pain. She discusses her approach to treating chronic pain which incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); functional therapies (e.g., physical therapy and yoga); psychological testing; assessment by a team of physicians; and listening to the patient and getting the...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Mel Pohl, the Chief Medical Officer of Las Vegas Recovery Center. He shares his center’s approach to treatment which focuses on both pain and addiction.  He explains that typically the physical component of addiction and pain is about 20% of the problem with the other 80% being the emotional component. His details his treatment a...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Mel Pohl, the Chief Medical Officer of Las Vegas Recovery Center, about the nature of addiction and its relationship to chronic pain. He explains that addiction is a disorder of the brain in terms of its response to a particular substance.  He discusses the symptomology of addiction, and the pro-inflammatory nature of opioids which can actually res...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Becky Curtis, founder and CEO of the pain management coaching company, Take Courage Coaching. She talks about the techniques her coaches use in working with patients to help them heal, and the importance of building trust and motivation in helping them make forward progress. She emphasizes the key lesson she learned in dealing with h...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Becky Curtis, CEO and founder of the pain management coaching company, Take Courage Coaching. She recounts the car accident that left her with a severe spinal cord injury and intense chronic pain. She discusses how she discovered approaches to personally manage her pain while going through a functional restoration program. And it was these techniques t...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with professor of psychiatry and neuroscientist Stephen Porges about the polyvagal theory. Dr. Porges explains the transformative power of feeling safe to keep us healthy. Using clinical examples from the treatment of pain and trauma, he illustrates how the nervous system responds to cues of safety or threat in the environment to alter th...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with professor of psychiatry and neuroscientist Stephen Porges about the polyvagal theory. He outlines the important role played by the sympathetic and para-sympathetic nervous system in governing our response to threats, whether it is from disease, chronic pain or other environmental threats. He also discusses the implications for treatment and why it is i...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with anesthesiologist and pain specialist Dr. James Taylor. Dr. Taylor shares the work his clinics are doing to test the anti-inflammatory and pain management properties of CBD formulations. He discusses the clinical results he has achieved in helping patients reduce or eliminate their opioid use, lower their blood pressure and eliminate...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with anesthesiologist and pain management specialist Dr. James Taylor about the healing properties of cannabinoids. He discusses the role the body’s cannabinoid receptors in the brain and central nervous system play in maintaining homeostasis and health. He also shares how the cannabinoids in CBD can be used to help moderate or eliminate pain by tapping int...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom discusses the important role that inflammatory processes and the body’s response to them play in chronic disease, including COVID-19. He explains the different level of responses that the body has to threats in the environment and outlines the various steps each of us can take to moderate these responses so we remain healthy and less vulnerable to disease. To lea...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with clinical neuroscientist and pain educator Dr. Lorimer Moseley. He talks about the chronic pain epidemic in Australia and shares the work he is doing, through his not for profit organization Pain Revolution, to educate the public and clinicians about chronic pain. For more information, visit https://www.painrevolution.org/  and explor...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with renowned clinical neuroscientist and pain educator Dr. Lorimer Moseley. He discusses what pain is from a neuroscience perspective, the differences between acute and chronic pain, how the brain creates the experience of pain, and how his neuroscience research was driven by his desire to find better clinical treatments for pain. He also shares his belief...