64: Impactful Pain Strategies

Today hosts Tiffany and Rachel hone in on a topic of interest for both yoga students and teachers: strategies to address persistent pain. While persistent pain is dismayingly common, the journey to recovery is a personal one, requiring individual understanding of our physical state, along with our feelings and beliefs.

In this episode we discuss the effect of language on pain-related fear and how pain education can have surprising impact on pain perception. We also explore sneaky yet effective ways to work with persistent pain as a yoga teacher, and how to help students in pain regain feelings of confidence and control.

Listen in to learn the importance of long-term partnership in pain management and how gradual graded exposure has the potential to change our perception of pain completely.

“Pain is real. It happens in the brain but it is always real.” – Tiffany Cruikshank

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“Pain and suffering are completely different processes.” – Rachel Land

Show Notes:

• The impact of pain education in recovery [3:48]
• Pain as a warning signal to initiate conversation [5:45]
• Perceived vulnerability and pain: the Fit for Purpose and Predictive Coding models [8:45]
• Pain is complex and pain-related fear is natural [12:33]
• Potential “bleed over” of persistent pain: Double Crush Syndrome [14:51]
• Emotions and beliefs influence pain perception [17:13]
• Effects of language on pain-related fear; the weight of words from medical professionals [23:09]
• A partnership approach for working with students in pain [31:16]
• Start by creating a feeling of safety [35:50]
• Gradual graded exposure as pain re-education [38:16]
• Myofascial release as a tool for pain re-education [45:29]
• Changing our relationship to pain [48:23]
• Persistent pain can’t always be completely eradicated [50:26]
• Considering the potential for flareups [54:55]
• Communicating through demeanor [59:31]
• Key takeaways [1:00:28]
• The power of putting students in control [1:02:50]

Links Mentioned:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Nervous System & Restorative Yoga Teacher Training
• Ceneiro et al.: From Fear to Safety: A Roadmap to Recovery From Musculoskeletal Pain
• Leake et al.: Key Learning Statements for Persistent Pain Education: An Iterative Analysis of Consumer, Clinician and Researcher Perspectives and Development of Public Messaging
• Explain Pain Book
• Previous Yoga Medicine Podcast Episodes:
  • Episode 2: The Placebo Effect Part 1
  • Episode 15: Shifting Persistent Pain with Marnie Hartman
  • Episode 19: Fascia & Pain
  • Episode 24: Yoga & Injury Part 2

“Our physical state and pain state is based on past experiences and that predictive coding is always happening in the background.” – Tiffany Cruikshank