Pain Science Podcast

On this episode, we are discussing the insufficient evidence for invasive procedures and chronic pain in how we can move our sick care system toward an integrative model of pain care. Joining us is Dr. Wayne Jonas . He is a practicing family physician, an expert in integrative health and a widely published scientific investigator. He served as the Director of Alternative Medicine at the National I...

In this episode, we are talking about the rapidly expanding field of telehealth, which is the use of electronic communication to remotely provide healthcare information services to patients who need physical therapy. Telehealth is gaining more and more attention as providers, patients and payers all seek more effective, and cost-efficient ways to deliver care. Here to speak with us about telehealt...

I am excited that you're here with me as we discuss the latest in pain care and pain science. We are discussing the topic of pain catastrophizing, which has been identified as a prognostic indicator of poor outcomes for many types of chronic pain syndromes. Interventions to address pain catastrophizing are commonly used by many pain professionals including physical therapists and psychologists but...

Patients have a very unique perspective on what they are going through. Yet health professionals tend to leave them out of the picture. Showing the importance of how health systems should get feedback from what patients want is Zoe Letwin. Zoe has a master's degree in Professional Education and is currently a second year PhD student in the Health Profession Education field at Western University. G...

Dr. Chad Cook, PT, PhD, the Program Director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Duke University, brings to light the value of psychologically-informed care. Getting deep into how it contributes to physical therapy and pain care, he lays down some literature about it - from the studies to the biases in them - showing how psychologically-informed practices are so hot right now and where th...

Do you know that you can use meditation to lessen stress and accomplish more in your life? This is what Emily Fletcher teaches. Emily is the founder of Ziva and the creator of The Ziva Technique, and is regarded as a leading expert in meditation for high performance. She joins us to talk about her meditation, her book called Stress Less, Accomplish More, The Ziva Technique and its benefits, and mo...

A niche in the medical field that is rarely explored is children and pain. This is where Dr. Steven Kamper, PT, found a good place to research as he reviewed its relationship to the parents' pain. This also leads to his passion to pursue the process of integrating research into practice. Dr. Kamper takes us into a more profound understanding of research as he discusses the importance of evidence-b...

Women's health is very special as it concerns menstrual cycles, fertility and infertility, menopause, and all issues involving female hormones. Birth control expert Dr. Jolene Brighten, NMD recognizes this uniqueness. She discusses links between hormones, inflammation and chronic pain, balancing your hormones naturally, post birth control syndrome, and why this isn't being discussed more in mainst...

As what has been constantly reiterated, chronic pain should not only be addressed from the physical and biomedical model. It is time to shift to what is called the biophysical model where the social ramifications of living with chronic pain should be explored. Social psychologist Dr. Claire Ashton James, PhD is totally on-board with this. Her research investigates the social aspects of health and...

Going to the nutrition side of chronic pain is Dr. Kathleen Holton, PhD and assistant professor at the Department of Health Studies at American University. With her combined background in epidemiology, nutrition, and neuroscience, she provides a great view on the positive and the negative effects of certain foods and food additives when it comes to chronic health. Dr. Holton shares the effects of...

There's so much controversy in the diet field. Being a naturopathic physician, Dr. Alan Christianson, NMD is definitely on the frontline of this as he tackles the biggest diet myths. Most of the time, people's need to eat healthy and be fit and healthy lead them to succumb to different diet trends. They explore and tend to blow out of proportion some information about food. Dr. Christianson talks...

Overcoming pain is not limited to the usual remedies we take like medication. It goes far reaching into multiple traditions. Sharing his interest on movement therapy and pain science is Todd Hargrove. He is a Seattle-based Feldenkrais practitioner, Rolfer, and author. Todd shares his own journey from being an attorney to getting into Feldenkrais, explaining what it is all about and the difference...

As the world becomes transformed with the advances of technology, so does the face of health care. Tackling the side of pain care through physical therapy is Dr. Alan Lee, DPT, PhD who takes us into the emerging world of Telehealth or telephysical therapy. He is a professor of physical therapy at Mount Saint Mary's University, Vice President of the Technology Special Interest Group at the American...

If you are interested in the intersection between gut health, nutrition, and pain, this will be an episode that you will enjoy. Carrie Falling's work and research is around central sensitization. Carrie began as a manual therapist and digestive health specialist. Illinois. After eight years of practice, she relocated to New Zealand where she became a physiotherapist working predominantly with indi...

This episode will serve both the clinician who treats pain as well as patients who suffer from musculoskeletal pain through education about pain mechanisms and the active care necessary to recover. Orthopedic clinical specialist Annie O'Connor lectures nationally and internationally on the Pain Mechanism Classification System, neurodynamic evaluation and treatment, mechanical diagnosis and therapy...

Illness perception is defined as the cognitive representations or beliefs that patients have about their illness. It basically means that how you perceive your illness has an influence on the way you think, what you believe is possible, and perhaps most importantly, what you do moving forward. Physiotherapist Edwin de Raaij recently completed a systematic review called the Association of Illness P...

Joe discusses chronic low back pain with Dr. Peter O'Sullivan, PT, PhD. Dr. O'Sullivan shares his journey from clinician to researcher and educator, how his research and study into back pain physiotherapy and behavioral psychology has changed his own belief system, treatment approach, and practice in treating chronic low back pain. Dr. O'Sullivan developed and continues to refine the cognitive fun...

Whether you're a physiotherapist or a practitioner who treats pain, Dr. Jo Nijs has great information with regard to healing chronic pain naturally. Dr. Nijs is one of the leading experts in the world of physiotherapy and pain research. He defines central sensitization and the role that it plays in chronic pain. He also discusses why the pain matrix may be outdated but still useful as the dynamic...

Healing is not just one method. It varies greatly just as how one person experiences pain differently from another. Piecing out neuroscience together with the science of yoga and mindfulness for the relief of chronic pain is Dr. Sara W. Lazar, PhD. She is an author, associate researcher in the Psychiatry Department at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an assistant professor in Psychology at Harv...

Barbara Bald says that pain is never always physical. After being diagnosed with chronic pain, she found that healing is not just about going to various tests and taking different medications. Developing pain has much to do with patient perspective, and to overcome that could eventually also overcome chronic pain. She takes us into her journey that led her to realize the path to a pain-free life....

Dr. Shiroko Sokitch was originally trained in general surgery and worked as an emergency room physician for over ten years when she noticed that many of the patients she was treating were struggling with pain and other chronic health conditions. She decided to attend to acupuncture school and later studied functional medicine. She now owns and operates a successful integrative primary care practic...

People tend to think that having no pain is normal when in fact, having a little is. While that is the case, there are still some ways that can help us manage pain. Talking about effective strategies for pain management is Dr. David Cosio. He is a pain psychologist in the Pain Clinic and interdisciplinary pain program at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. He earned his PhD from Ohio Uni...

The microbiome is an interesting and rapidly growing area of research. There are trillions of microbes inhabiting our bodies, and we have more microbial cells than we do human cells. Dr. John Cryan, PhD, professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience at the University of Cork, Ireland, talks about everything involved with the microbiome, from mood to pain to neurotransmitters th...

Is our American diet affecting us? We know that it's affecting our weight, our metabolic syndrome. We know that it's leading to diseases such as diabetes and prediabetes. However, it's also effecting neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is pain caused by damage or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system, a part of the sensory nervous system. No wonder out diet is called SAD or the standar...

Whether you are a practitioner or a patient interested in learning more about psychological informed care, you will benefit a lot from Dr. Beverly E. Thorn's research which focuses on investigating the important components of cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain. Beverly is Professor Emerita of psychology at the University of Alabama. She is the recipient of the 2018 Wilbert E Fordyce Cli...