The Pain and Performance Podcast

The Pain & Performance Podcast is changing: short, actionable health episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, plus long-form expert interviews. Dr. Derrick Hines opens a new chapter of the Pain & Performance Podcast, built on his definition of learning: making a better decision or taking a better action in the same situation. Knowledge on its own isn't power; knowledge that inform...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Brian Trzaskos to explore how beliefs, emotions, and the nervous system influence healing, chronic pain, and overall well-being. Together, they discuss the mind-body connection, the role of perception in shaping physiology, and practical tools for improving body awareness, reducing pain, and creating lasting chan...

A physician who wrote a book on health insurance still could not get his own cancer treatment approved. Dr. Ben Proctor explains why care gets denied and who profits. Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Dr. Ben Proctor, a physician and the author of Inefficient on Purpose, to talk about how for-profit health insurance shapes the care patients actually receive. They cover how insurers use prior author...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Dr. Karyn Shanks to explore a different way of thinking about chronic illness, pain, and the healing process. They discuss why a diagnosis doesn't always tell the whole story, how our environment, experiences, relationships, sleep, nutrition, movement, and sense of safety can influence health, and why healin...

New aches after you start running or lifting again usually do not mean you are injured. Your body is not broken. It is unprepared, and you can prepare it. Dr. Derrick Hines explains why pain after jumping back into an activity, like a friend's knee pain after he started running again, is usually a sign the body was not ready rather than damaged. He walks through progressive loading: building...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines explains why improving your health starts with understanding where you are right now. Instead of guessing or trying to change everything at once, Derrick shares the measurements he looks at to build a clearer picture of a person's health and identify where improvement may have the greatest impact. He walks through movement...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down senescent cells, often called “zombie cells,” and why researchers are increasingly interested in their role in aging, inflammation, and age-related disease. Derrick explains what happens when cells become senescent and explores several areas being studied for cellular health, including exercise, fasting and autophag...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines shares a simple framework he uses personally and with patients to better navigate stressful periods: the 3 B’s of stress, Body, Brain, and Breathing. Derrick explains why we cannot eliminate every source of stress from our lives, but we can work on how we respond to it. He walks through using movement, identifying and reframing...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines shares three simple habits he calls “health multipliers,” habits that can positively influence multiple areas of your health while making other healthy behaviors easier to build. Derrick explains why consistent sleep and wake times, walking after meals, and strength training are three powerful places to start. Rather than tryin...

In this episode of Tea with Dr. D, Dr. Derrick Hines answers common questions about herniated discs, spine health, and what it really takes to recover from a disc injury. He explains how spinal discs heal, why an MRI doesn’t always tell the full story behind your pain, and how reducing pressure, restoring movement, and gradually rebuilding strength can help create a more resilient spine. He also a...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines challenges the traditional idea of work-life balance and shares a different framework for thinking about where we put our time, energy, and attention. Rather than trying to perfectly divide work and personal life, Derrick explains why balance may come from supporting three areas: purpose, passion, and peace. He breaks down what...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Dr. Jerry Mixon to explore the science of longevity and what it really takes to extend not just lifespan, but healthspan. They discuss the role of hormones, exercise, mitochondrial health, and biological age testing, along with emerging research on senescent cells and the future of anti-aging medicine. The conver...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Stephen Cabral to discuss why lasting health starts with identifying the root cause, not simply managing symptoms. They explore how inflammation, blood sugar, environmental toxins, mold exposure, and nutrient deficiencies can contribute to chronic pain and disease, and why personalized testing is becoming an esse...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Dr. Jason Shumard to explore the root causes of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and chronic inflammation. They discuss why blood sugar is only part of the story, the role of toxins, cellular health, and advanced testing, and how a functional medicine approach can help uncover what's driving metabolic di...

In this episode, Dr. Derrick Hines joins therapist Bronwyn Schweigerdt for a deep conversation on the connection between mental health, chronic pain, trauma, stress, and physical healing. They explore how emotional experiences, unresolved stress, fear, hopelessness, and nervous system dysregulation can impact pain, inflammation, healing, and overall health, and why treating the body without addres...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines explains how an often-overlooked muscle called the pterygoid may be contributing to jaw pain, clicking, popping, and TMJ dysfunction. He breaks down how tension in this muscle can alter jaw mechanics, create pressure on the jaw joint, and lead to pain on one or both sides of the face. Dr. Hines also shares a simple jaw retraini...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down one of the biggest misconceptions about posture and why good posture should never feel rigid, forced, or exhausting. He explains how posture impacts neck pain, headaches, shoulder tension, and upper back discomfort, while sharing a simple technique to improve body position without creating unnecessary muscle strain....

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down the foundations of brain health and how sleep, inflammation, blood sugar regulation, nutrition, detoxification, and recovery all impact memory, cognition, focus, and long-term brain function. He also explores emerging therapies including peptides, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, sauna, antioxidants, and neuroprotective c...

In this episode, Dr. Derrick Hines joins therapist Bronwyn Schweigerdt for a deep conversation on the connection between mental health, chronic pain, trauma, stress, and physical healing. They explore how emotional experiences, unresolved stress, fear, hopelessness, and nervous system dysregulation can impact pain, inflammation, healing, and overall health and why treating the body without address...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down the science behind hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and why it’s becoming one of the most talked-about tools in healing, recovery, brain health, and longevity. He explains how hyperbaric oxygen therapy works, the difference between mild and higher-pressure chambers, and how oxygen and pressure impact mitochondria, s...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down why magnesium may be one of the most important and overlooked nutrients for energy, recovery, sleep, brain function, and overall health. He explains the growing problem of magnesium deficiency, why modern lifestyles increase magnesium depletion, and how low levels can contribute to fatigue, muscle cramps, anxiety, p...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down why VO2 max may be one of the most important predictors of long-term health, resilience, and longevity. He explains what VO2 max actually measures, why it matters far beyond athletics, and how improving your body’s ability to use oxygen impacts energy, inflammation, cardiovascular health, and overall performance. Dr...

In this episode of Tea with Dr. D, Dr. Derrick Hines answers listener questions on healing, inflammation, longevity, peptides, recovery, metabolic health, and performance. From AFib and sleep apnea to allulose, fasting, mitochondrial health, and muscle recovery technologies, this episode breaks down practical strategies for improving health, resilience, and long-term function. In This Episode - Th...

In this episode of the Pain and Performance Podcast, Dr. Derrick Hines sits down with Rob Hanopole to break down the science behind photobiomodulation, regenerative laser therapy, and how light-based treatments are changing the future of healing. They discuss the differences between red light therapy, LED panels, and high-powered medical lasers, along with how laser therapy impacts mitochondria, i...

In this episode, Dr. Derrick Hines breaks down a rare sugar called allulose and why it’s gaining attention for its impact on blood sugar, cravings, and weight management. Unlike regular sugar, allulose is metabolized differently and may help reduce glucose spikes while supporting better appetite control. He also explains how it works on a similar pathway as GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, and why...