The Pain PT News

Emotional Mastery: Dealing With Unpleasant Feelings

Dr. Sarno was a pioneer M.D. who found the link between repressed emotions and physical symptoms. I find emotions really interesting as we know so many people have learned to suppress and repress uncomfortable…

Psychosocial Factors Play Critical Roles in Chronic Pain

Psychosocial factors play a big part in ongoing chronic pain, though you don't have that many doctors asking patients about these things. Working with people in pain for over 20 years, you hear all sorts…

What Role Do Emotions Play in Bodily Symptoms?

One of the least talked about things in the medical community is how emotions play a role in somatic symptoms. Many of these bodily symptoms don't have a physical or structural cause. This study was review…

Ignoring Your Emotions is Bad For Your Health

A little article in TIME magazine to remind us that our emotions have the capacity to create physical symptoms in the body. If you have ruled out structural and organic causes with your physical symptoms,…

Emotions & Somatic Symptoms: What Does the Research Say?

This study published June 7, 2019 was a systematic review looking at multiple studies and the role of emotions in somatic (bodily) symptoms. This is the first review to look at the combination…

What Predicts Back Pain Becoming Chronic? Your Brain!

How common are getting X-ray and MRI's of your back? How about a brain MRI? Well, one day hopefully we will include brain MRI's with acute low back pain. Why? Because certain brain activation patterns…

The Natural Course of Healing

Natural healing happens with time no matter what treatment you have, unless your pain goes chronic. I have known this for awhile as a PT (physiotherapist). I can't take credit for healing, the body heals…

Learn to Go with the Flow

We hear the saying "Go with the Flow" and it sounds cliche. But there is power in opening up and letting life unfold as it does with all its ups and downs and in-betweens. This means letting our thoughts,…

Anxiety Can Be the Cause of Physical Symptoms

I work with a lot of people with chronic symptoms and anxiety is one of the top things I see in many patients. What many people don't realize is that anxiety alone can create physical symptoms in the body…

How To Use Reverse Psychology On Your Symptoms/Feelings

Have you ever thought about doing the complete opposite of what you've been doing with your symptoms? We know fighting and resisting what we feel doesn't really work. What we resist persists. The opposite…

Chronic Pain: A Protective Response from Psychological Threats

All pain is meant to protect us from something. It is always a protective response to try to help us as it thinks something is too dangerous or threatening. The definition of pain is that it is both a…

The Body’s Alarm System: Is it Ringing with Pain?

The body's alarm system is your brain and nervous system. With chronic pain, the alarm system stays turned on or is easily triggered to turn on. The alarm system is trying to protect us and thinks there…

Making Changes in Your Subconscious System To Heal

This article really encapsulates many aspects of my mind-body treatment program for chronic pain and chronic health ailments. As Dr. Sarno states in his best selling books, we are talking about the subconscious…

Some Signs and Symptoms of Too Much Stress (TMS)

Not many people think of TMS- Too Much Stress as the culprit in their chronic health ailment. The medical establishment is too fixated on structural findings, which we know have poor correlations with…

Let the Body Do It’s Thing

This article highlights what I have felt for a long while- the body knows what its doing so let it do it. In this case, researchers are finding out ice is not really helpful for injuries. In fact it may…

Movement is Medicine

Getting moving is one of the best ways to deal with persistent pain or symptoms. Here I go over some interesting research about exercising and chronic pain. You may be surprised by the findings here- is…

Interoception- What is it and why is it important with Chronic Pain?

Interoception does not refer to the game of NFL football (: It is the medical scientific term for "awareness of inner body sensations, involving the sensory process of receiving, accessing and appraising…

FREE Upcoming Online SIRPA Summit for Chronic Pain

October 10th, 2019, SIRPA will be presenting a FREE online summit for chronic pain. There will be multiple speakers, including myself. We are all SIRPA practitioners helping people with chronic pain. If…

Talking Healing with Georgie Oldfield, SIRPA founder

I had the pleasure to speak to UK based Georgie Oldfield, Physiotherapist and SIRPA founder. Georgie is a leader in the mind-body field. She has written a book: "Chronic Pain: Your Key To Recovery" and…