Pain Science Podcast

Have you ever wondered how your heart and brain interacts and coordinates? For decades, Dr. Stephen Porges, a leading expert in developmental psychophysiology and developmental behavioral neuroscience, has been studying the connection between human behavior and physiology, specifically the vagus nerve. Dr. Porges' work on the vagus nerve opens up new insights into the way our autonomic nervous sys...

When women get pregnant, they carry the child for nine months then go through hours of labor. The notion that women are more tolerant to pain stems from this. However, studies show that women are greatly over-represented as pain patients. Dr. Jeffrey Mogil explains that women say that they are in pain more often than men do, but that can also mean that women are more prone to diseases that happen...

America is in the middle of an opioid epidemic because it has become the alternative agent for practitioners and patients suffering from chronic pain. It is a natural way of alleviating pain but not without its side effects. There are already 29 states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana for medical purposes, but this still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Dr. Rachna Patel has be...

One way to define mindfulness is awareness of your experience in the present so that your perception of what is happening is not distorted by certain emotions. Being present in the moment of pain allows the mind to tell the body that healing is possible with mindfulness meditation. Sharon Salzberg believes that when you make peace with fear, you can start dealing with your pain. She shares how a w...

Freedom to move and perform activities is a privilege most people take for granted. For some people suffering chronic pain, the ease of doing simple tasks is a luxury. Chronic pain has been defined as any pain persisting over twelve weeks. It may result from injury or ongoing illness and may be accompanied with other health problems like sleep deprivation, decreased appetite, and fatigue, limiting...

Are you finding it hard to resist sinking your teeth into that third donut? Do you find that your pants are getting a little bit more snug than it was just a couple of weeks ago? You are not alone. The struggle with weight loss has increased over the years with the onslaught of food choices in great portions. Shifting your focus from your gut to your brain may be the answer. Dr. Stephan Guyenet ta...

It's great to be here with you for another episode. Before this episode, I sat down for a couple of minutes and I started to write out a list of all the different ways we have to treat, alleviate, control, or numb pain. Think about it for just a moment. Think about all the different types of pills, lotions, potions, surgeries, injections, practitioners, and treatments that all claim to resolve pai...

Blood sugar balance is critical for our cells to get nutrients and energy. Every single organ and system of our body will be affected when there blood sugar imbalance. A symptom of this is brain fog, where the brain just goes offline because it is not getting all its needed nourishment. This imbalance also affects the liver. Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo explains more on how blood sugar can affect the bo...

Physical therapists change people's lives like they are working a miracle. But before they get to this point, PTs need to go to school and devote time to learn the practice. Most PT schools have a B Average environment of students which is helpful for some by way of academic excellence. However this also creates anxiety and depression for some students who are asking if they are really cut out for...

You can eat whatever you want as long as you make the food yourself. If you want to eat cake, make one with ingredients that you can pronounce. Dr. Mark Hyman knows that functional nutrition plays a huge role in the natural healing process. Food has an enormous impact on our bodies which means eating isn't just a personal choice. Food keeps the body healthy in the most natural way possible as long...

A good therapist should always point their patients towards a scientific direction from what an evidence based practice may have shown them. Which is why Dr. Ben Cormack, a specialist in the combination of pain science and exercise, believes that exercise is the best way to heal chronic pain naturally. Dr. Cormack knows that there are no specifics in exercise that will show that this yoga discipli...

Emotional or sexual trauma, these two are just some of the contributing factors for people to suffer pelvic pain. By understanding the effects of the overall body to the small pelvic region, Dr. Evelyn Hecht is able to correct orthopedic issues as well as pelvic floor issues. But she also believes that modern pain care is revolutionizing the way physical therapists see their patients in therapy. A...

The technology that modern medicine possess is so powerful that it can change the life of a patient with a push of a button. The danger is that the medical community needs to be aware of how to harness this technology appropriately and judiciously, because if not more problems for the patient may occur. Author of  Conquer Your Chronic Pain  Dr. Peter Abaci believes that integrative pain care can h...

Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are traditional ways to treat cancer and we've been taught that this is the best way to battle the disease. Dr. Veronique Desaulniers isn't taking away any of the truths in this, but as a cancer survivor herself she wants people to know that there is a natural way of curing it. During her two-year battle Dr. Desaulniers created the 7 Essential System that guides...

Sleep has an important role in our body's functions. We spend one-third of our lives sleeping and in that time of sleep, our bodies become refreshed and re-energized. Kansas Medical Center Associate Professor Katie Siengsukon believes that poor sleep affects the immune system, tissue healing, cardiovascular health and can even be the cause of Alzheimer 's disease. Learn why for chronic pain patien...

Men will always have their bravado getting in the way of admitting that there's something wrong with their body, especially if it involves their manhood. Author of  Pelvic Pain: The Ultimate Cock Block  Dr. Susie Gronski is saying that it's time for this idealism to stop because male pelvic pain is real and there is no need to feel shy about it. Dr. Gronski educates her patients first about pain s...

Surgery and drugs are always the go-to for doctors, but with the changing times there is now a need for the conventional ways to be reconsidered. Dr. Elizabeth Dean of the University of British Columbia in Canada believes that it is time to reconfigure a physical therapist's role on healing a patient and help them live longer and healthier lives. It is also important to learn how lifestyle medicin...

Every doctor considers every patient as a case study in and of itself, and that every patient has a different way of defining the pain they are feeling. Dr. Jarod Hall explains how group discussions among patients transform into a healing environment where a physical therapy session isn't just another day of exercising. Learn why doctors need to create constant dialogues with patients to lessen th...

For the body to be healthy the brain needs to be healthy. Join Dr. Steven Masley as he explains why having a healthy heart is a better brain solution. Learn how your heart rate tells a lot about your brain functions and how exercise is the best way to live healthy. But having a healthy body will require proper nutrition. Discover how all these factors make for a healthier version of you. Each day,...

The prediction, prevention and alleviation of persistent pain are challenging tasks because the precise cause is often elusive and an individual's experience of pain varies considerably. To reduce the suffering associated with pain in an effort to restore a more balanced state of being, this will require an approach of humility and curiosity and the examination of multiple factors that contribute...

Pediatric chronic pain is a significant problem with conservative estimates that somewhere between 20% to 35% of children and adolescents are affected by it worldwide. Pain experience in children hospitals is known to be common but is under-recognized, often under-treated, with more than 10% of children who are hospitalized showing features of chronic pain. Although the majority of children that r...

Finding quality pain killer that focuses on teaching you how to move with more ease while integrating the latest pain science principles that keep your body, breath and mind calm, can be challenging to find. Many of these principles are not taught in primary medical education or integrated into clinical practice. What if I told you there are five simple steps you could integrate into your care of...

If you are the parent of a child with chronic pain, anxiety, mood or behavior challenges, you may have wondered if the struggles you and your child are facing will ever get better. Too often you may hear things from your child such as, "My stomach hurts, I got a headache today, my lower back hurts, or my neck is stiff," or maybe you've even heard, "I just don't feel like going to school today." On...

There are approximately 45 million Americans that complain of headaches each year. That works out to about one out of every six people or about 17% of the population. More than 8 million Americans visit their doctor for complaints of headache each year. It's on the top list of the World's Health Organization as diseases to be treated. Headache disorders are among the most common disorders of the n...

This week on the Healing Pain Podcast, I had the privilege of interviewing Professor Lorimer Moseley. Whether you're a practitioner or a patient, you may very well be aware of his work, as he is one of the global leaders in the revolution to change the current paradigm around chronic pain. Professor Moseley is a Clinical Scientist investigating pain in humans. After posts at the University of Oxfo...