Episodes

What if the guideline isn’t wrong—but incomplete? And what if your patient isn’t “non-compliant”—just complex? In this episode, I’m joined by Joost Van Wijchen to explore the tension between clinical guidelines and the messy reality of practice. We unpack the concept of mindlines—the experience-sha…

Mindfulness for pain isn’t candles and breathing apps. It’s measurable, mechanism-based analgesia. In this episode, we break down what the neuroscience actually shows about mindfulness and pain modulation—and why it works through pathways completely independent of opioids. You’ll learn: How mindful…

What do you do when a patient says, “I don’t care about goals—I just want less pain”? This moment shows up every day in pain care—and how you respond can either reinforce stuckness or help someone get their life back.

🎙️ What happens when a clinician becomes the patient—and almost doesn’t survive?💥 HLH. ICU. Life support. Then… powerlifting again.

Part 2 goes from definitions to implications. Bottom-up pain does not mean “it’s in the tissues.” This episode is a recording of a live interview with pain researcher and clinician Asaf Weissman. If you haven’t watched Part 1, start there—we laid the foundation: why pain semantics matter, how mixed…

Chronic pain care is stuck—and definitions may be the reason. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we reset how clinicians talk about nociception and pain. This episode is a recording of a live interview with pain researcher and clinician Asaf Weissman, whose work explores the relationship between no…

Enrolling our next cohort of Pain Practice OS soon - JOIN US! Most back pain improves – but how we guide recovery makes all the difference. In this part 2 conversation with Dr. Jim Eubanks, we dig into: First-line care for acute low back painWhy rest is often the worst adviceThe role (and limits) o…

In this episode, Dr. Jim Eubanks, physiatrist and spine specialist, breaks down the most harmful back pain myths patients encounter online-and what clinicians can say instead. If you've ever struggled to help a patient move p...

I sit down with Mark Shepherd, fellowship program director, to tackle a controversial question: Is the "manual therapy" label holding back our profession?

In this episode of the Modern Pain Podcast, Mark sits down with physiotherapist and Pain Coach founder Lachlan Townend to unpack how lifestyle data, clinical reasoning, and tech can finally work together instead of against each other.

Richard shares his journey from biomechanical certainty to embracing uncertainty, and how that shift has made him a better clinician and mentor.

Pain management requires psychological flexibility—not just for patients, but for clinicians too. Bronnie Lennox Thompson reveals why embracing uncertainty builds better therapeutic relationships than projecting false certain...

Chronic pain doesn’t have to steal your purpose. In this episode, Benjamin shares how he’s navigated life with cluster headaches—and how he’s turning his journey into a mission to help others. Key takeaways How Benjamin first experienced his illness and what followedWhy acceptance became a turning …

You’re not powerless to fix the system — you can lead change right where you are. In this episode, Mark Kargela walks you through 5 actionable steps any clinician can take now to transform how pain is treated in your community. What you’ll learn: • Why waiting for the system to change is a trap • H…

Rethinking pain changes outcomes. Treating tissues alone leaves people behind.

The pivotal power of “We believe you” in the clinic

This episode features Joletta Belton, a former firefighter who shares how years of battling hip pain left her life small—and how shifting to acceptance, values, and self-compassion helped her build a bigger life around pain. The conversation highlights practical strategies for clinicians, including…

Compassion is not just being “nice”—it’s a clinical superpower. Learn how inner compassion can transform both patient care and your resilience as a clinician. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: • Why compassion is a contextua...

Fighting pain made things worse. Acceptance gave him his life back.

Most chronic pain care ignores one of the most powerful drivers of symptoms: our emotions. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mark Lumley, a leading researcher in Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), to explore how unprocessed emotions, trauma, and life stressors can directly influe…

Are you tired of surface-level solutions in pain care? In this episode, Mark Kargela pulls back the curtain on the massive gap in pain programming and why our current clinical education models are failing both patients and pr...

As AI continues to evolve and integrate into more areas of healthcare, many clinicians are asking: will we be replaced? In this episode, Mark Kargela and Ben Whybrow have a frank conversation about how AI is affecting clinica...

Many patients are doing something about their pain—but they’re still not living the life they want. In this episode of The Modern Pain Podcast, Dr. Mark Kargela breaks down how to help patients zoom out and reflect on whether their care is truly moving them toward what matters most—or just keeping …

Struggling with self-doubt and distraction? In this episode of Modern Pain Podcast, I share the honest journey of overcoming procrastination, imposter thoughts, and finally creating something that matters.