The Pain Rebel Podcast By Straight Shot Health

In this episode we explore the dangers of "causality" thinking for pain, why the brain defaults to that perspective, and how it can make caring for pain--and promoting better outcomes--more difficult.

This episode discusses why thinking like a "fixer" vs. a "facilitator" can increase clinical burnout and frustration--especially with pain care. For more empowered pain care resources visit www.ThePainClass.com

There's a common believe that in order to heal from chronic pain you must process your childhood trauma. Many clinicians strongly advocate that those with chronic pain should imagine your parents and express your anger by hitting pillows, hypnotically regress back to childhood events and replay them, or write letters to abusers. And these techniques can work. But are they really required? This and more is discussed by Dr. Kevin Cuccaro & Sharna Prasad DPT in this episode of Straight Shot Health. This episode is also brought to you by ThePainWebinar. Interested in monthly live clinical pain training? Sign up to learn more at thepainwebinar.com

A question was sent in before ThePainWebinar.Com asking how to convince patients on chronic opioids not to talk opioids. However, is this even necessary for most care encounters? Dr. Kevin Cuccaro, talks with Sharna Prasad, DPT about when this conversation might be necessary and when it could simply interfere with pain care. This episode is sponsored by ThePainWebinar.Com. A monthly webinar that provides free clinical pain training. Sign up for updates & registration information at ThePainWebinar.com

Lance McQuillan, MD & Sharna Prasad, DPT return for a discussion on the differences between empowering & entrapping therapies & pain care.

How does learning modern pain science impact primary care? Dr. Lance McQuillan, Family Physician & Resident Educator joins the show to talk about the dramatic changes he's experienced in patient care after bring pain science into his day-to-day practice.

A discussion on incorporating physical therapists in Primary Care practices plus why understanding the science of pain helps clinical practice across the spectrum.

A discussion on the challenges of incorporating the science of pain into clinical practice.

“This has helped reinvigorate my passion for my career because I've been at burnout at least twice and ready to walk away. So I'm as energized as ever to do what I do.”     Dr. Kevin: Hey folks, welcome back to another episode of Straight Shot Health Talk. This is your host, Dr. Kevin […]

A discussion with Tina Corey, LCSW   Dr. Kevin: Hey folks… Welcome back to another episode of Straight Shot Health Talk. This is your host, Dr. Kevin and for today, we have a very special guest. Her name is Tina Corey and Ms. Corey is a social worker with Linn County Mental Health. She has […]

Setting The Path Towards Healing Pain A discussion with Curable's CEO, John Gribbin.                                                         Links: CurableHealth.Com Like Mind, Like Body Podcast

Everyday people see surgeons about their back pain. But how do you know when (or even if) back surgery is appropriate for you? Until now that decision relied heavily on what your spine surgeon told you and, unfortunately, spine surgeons overall are not making great decisions on your behalf . (see prior podcasts on the […]

A conversation with Marie Buda, PhD Dr. Buda's research thesis at the University of Cambridge was on the science of false memories. More importantly, we discuss how malleable memories actually are and the importance of this to pain. Dr. Buda's website  

“Stress Management” is widely recommended for persistent pain…the question is why? This podcast episode comes from a live webinar provided to registrants of The Pain Class (for clinicians) and Why We Hurt   (similar material but for non-clinicians). Both programs are available for free at https://straightshothealth.thinkific.com/collections Registrants can also optin to receive emails on updates and […]

An episode of back pain when he was 19 was the beginning of a 15-year journey of pain for John Gribbin. An MRI then led to physical therapy… And massage therapy. And creams, gels, and topical solutions. And foam rollers. And pills and supplements. But no relief for fifteen years. Until one day he talked to […]

–A Discussion with Lianne Dyche, LCSW Many clinicians struggle with introducing pain science to their patients in practice but what if there was a ‘backdoor' way to do it better?   That instead vomiting forth all the exciting science (& it is exciting) and overwhelming your client, you start with something easier to get buyin with. […]

“…And then I provide a framework through understanding what they're experiencing and why, and what can be done to help with it. You can see this relief in their presentation, and then when we go on to actually provide the goods, make changes in life, their life gets a whole lot better and it's really […]

What Happens For You & Your Clients When You Move From The Old ‘Biomechanical' To The New ‘Bioplastic' Science of Pain? If you believe pain ‘oozes' out of structures like pus out of an abscess, you're not alone. Almost everyone does. In fact, the foundation of almost all clinical pain education thinks of pain in […]

“Yoga & Pain” or “Yoga For Pain”?  Is there even a difference? Well, yes. One doesn't incorporate modern pain science into its practice. (Maybe assuming… “We'll just focus on Yoga and your pain might improve.” The other does incorporate up-to-date pain science into its practice. Now, you're using yoga (& meditation) intentionally towards improving pain. […]

  One leads to burnout. The other? Transformation. What's the difference between a ‘fixing' and a ‘facilitating' mindset? Who is the person who has control over a client's outcomes? And what happens when the clinician changes their perspective from a ‘fixer' to a ‘facilitator of change' with their clients? A discussion with Lianne Dyche, LCSW […]

A discussion with Dr. Erika La Vella Erika La Vella, DO is a bariatric surgeon who focuses on helping people with morbid obesity to lose weight and improve their health. But surgery is only one ‘tool' she uses to facilitate this. In this interview, we talk about seeing and addressing the entire ‘pattern' of obesity […]

Talking ‘pain' is one of my favorite things to do so when Mark Kargela, DPT of Modern Pain Care asked about doing a live chat with his Facebook Group I gladly said, “Yes.” Then he was kind enough to share the audio for a podcast. Thank you, Mark, for sharing the interview and for all you […]

A Discussion With Sharna Prasad, PT When clinicians first start learning about the science of pain one of the big stumbling points is,  “How DO I Use This In My Practice?!?” Part of that is understanding when & how to introduce your client to pain science. In this interview, Ms. Sharna Prasad provides some insights into how she has successfully incorporated her […]

Sara Slack is a physical therapist with a background in dance and education. Initially, her exposure to treating pain in her practice was what most clinicians had (e.g. minimal training, difficult encounters). However, over time, she has invested in learning and incorporating the science of pain into her practice. In this discussion, we talk about […]

A conversation with Lianne Dyche, LCSW. Lianne Dyche stumbled into the care of pain with a question she asked when she just started working for Linn County Mental Health. That question was, “Where do you need help?” That question is reflective of much of what Lianne does as she has the uncanny ability to listen […]

What happens when the therapist, who treats chronic pain, experiences chronic pain herself?

Melissa Cady, DO is an anesthesiologist and fellowship-trained pain specialist. In this episode, we discuss the problems she sees in the pain world from her perspective as an anesthesiologist… (e.g. What is it like to meet someone five minutes before their scheduled back surgery…and realize that no other conservative care had been discussed previously?) And […]

If you ever have the pleasure of meeting Ms. Maureen 'Mo' Forrest the first thing you notice about her is her enthusiasm, energy, and kindness. And if you ask her why... Well, let's just say you're in for a surprise. Because Mo has a story that begins with childhood trauma, fear, and 60+ years of pain. But ends with a life transformed.

Growing up in Montana, Jean Beriault fell in love with the outdoors.  Camping, hiking, biking,...she did it all.Then she started her career in law enforcement and loved that too. (And discovered that many of the 'bad guys' weren't, necessarily, 'bad' but were instead trapped by addiction) Over time, though, she began noticing more pain...and more pain...until she ended up somewhere she never thought she would be.On high doses of opioids and unable to do the outdoor activities or the job she loved. 

Cindy's Personal Story of Transformation Cindy's story begins similarly to many others. One day she had a headache. Then, over the ensuing weeks and days, she experienced more headaches until, finally, they were constant. But while trying to find solutions for them…she continued to get sicker and sicker. More physicians led to more prescriptions until she was taking 19 different medications per day. More specialists led to more specialists until she was receiving 30+ injections (PER SESSION) and undergoing multiple other medical procedures. & More diagnoses (including an autoimmune disorder, a malabsorption syndrome, and an ‘incurable' chronic pain condition.) But no answers. Until, one day, while lying in a hospital bed thinking she was going to die she asked, “But what will happen to my horses?” And that's where the story gets interesting.

The worlds “Addiction” & “Pain” often get used in the same sentence. Sometimes it even seems people use the words interchangeably. But there is a difference and it's important…especially if we want to have a rational discussion about improving health and healthcare. In fact, it could be argued that the misunderstanding & mistreatment of addiction […]

All ‘treatments' have side effects but while we typically think that side effects are bad they don't have to be. However, what treatment you choose will affect which types of side effects you end up with. Interestingly, when we start understanding pain and facilitating change the side effects can be profound. (And profoundly good) More […]

Positive & Negative feedback loops are found everywhere.  They're what allow a plane to arrive at its destination (generally on time) and they also allow your body to function. However, you can also find positive and negative feedback loops at work in belief systems and THESE feedback loops & the beliefs that anchor them are […]

Simple Question: What if you were only paid if your client got results from your treatment?  Or, if you're the client, you were 100% financially responsible for any treatments you pursued? How would that change your practice (or what you are willing to pay for)? Unfortunately, in our current world of “Pain Management,”  Price-to-Value ratios […]

Luckily for us, Firefighters understand Fire well. They know HOW fires are constructed but they also understand HOW fires behave. More importantly, they've figured out how to simplify (but not ‘dumbify') very complex processes into easy-to-use and understand models. Unfortunately, in the ‘Pain World' we're not there yet.  Instead, there seems to be an ever-increasing need […]

One of the more upsetting (out of the many upsetting aspects) of the ‘pain world' is a persistent but false belief that patients who were prescribed opioid medications can't come off of them. In fact, some doctors describe a ‘Lost Generation' of pain patients.  They believe these patients because of the duration of time they've […]

I almost didn't publish this episode.  However, I am because it is important for people to understand that misinformation on pain continues to get distributed. Unfortunately, even in places where it should not be occurring. Background: A listener to Straight Shot Health asked me to listen to an episode from another ‘pain podcast.' So I […]

Here's an analogy of the Healthcare System (at least in the United States): Imaging you're thirsty and want a drink of water.  However, the only water available is from a single river…and that river is a raging torrent of white froth, rocks, and tumultuous waterfalls. Plus the shores of the river are rocky and steep. […]

Stress…stress…stress.  Everywhere you look someone is talking about “Stress Management” or the “Problem of Stress.” But they're missing the point.  Stress, in and of itself, is NOT a bad thing! In fact, stress is necessary for a healthy life because it causes growth (in all facets of health–physical, emotional, spiritual, community, etc.) Instead, the problem […]

Do you enjoy listening to the same intro over and over again for podcasts you subscribe to?  If so, I'd like to know why? I'm not sure, after the first episode or two, how that intro helps the listener? Anyway, this episode discusses why I took the intro out of this podcast (even though it […]

When people optin to the Straight Shot Health email list, I ask them, “Why'd they sign up?” and, “What questions do you have?” Then I read those responses. This episode talks about some of those questions. (Lots of rambling but the last 5-10 minutes has a KEY point on when to decide aggressive interventions such […]

A “lost” episode from early 2017. (This episode was created before “Thing vs. Action vs. Experience.)

A “lost” episode from 2017. Who can you trust when it comes to pain?    

  “Your pain is coming from…         “Your pain is constructed from…”

This is short Ted talk (8:02 minutes) presented by Barry Schwartz Ph.D. that I recommend everyone watch. You can find it here. While the topic itself is interesting and thought-provoking. (Quick summary: How we think about job creation and work is flawed and this has important implications to how you life and work.) It is […]

  Are you thinking about back surgery or have you been told by a surgeon that back surgery “could be done”? Has someone said, “We could do surgery…If you ‘fail' all these other therapies first…”? Or maybe you're considering surgery because it's “The Last Resort.” If so, then you're going to want to listen to […]

  The Healthcare system in the United States is well known as the most expensive, least beneficial, healthcare systems in the world. We spend more money and get worse results than any other industrialized country out there. This, of course, is ‘bad.' But is it worse? Is all the cutting, poking and drugging we do […]

Straight & Honest Answers About Pain

New Report Says Up To 25% of ALL American's Have Arthritis!!!! Give me a break. This isn't a catastrophe or even something to be significantly concerned about…unless you don't understand pain.  

A video for this episode is available at straightshothealth.com  

Healthcare providers go to conferences for continuing education and one of the biggest topics now is the prescription opioid epidemic. Yet these conferences, usually labeled as ‘pain conferences,' RARELY (if ever) focus on pain. Instead, they talk around pain (addiction, medical treatments for addiction, how to write opioids and put patients on ‘medication agreements.') But they […]