🔗 Try Pain Coach: https://modernpaincare.com/paincoach
(Free trial for clinicians; limited patient view when not linked with a clinician)
Connect with Lachlan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lachlan-townend/
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.
Lachlan shares his own journey with persistent groin pain, why the traditional biopsychosocial model often becomes “woo-woo” and unmeasured, and how he built Pain Coach to help clinicians track sleep, exercise, social connection, nutrition, and psychological distress in a way that actually guides treatment.
You’ll hear us dive into:
• How Lachlan’s personal pain story shaped his empathy and practice
• Why patients don’t want “complexity” – they want simple, actionable steps
• The limitations of manual therapy and short-term fixes (without throwing them out entirely)
• How to use lifestyle tracking as a clinical support tool, not a replacement for reasoning
• Using data to test-treat-retest lifestyle changes over time
• The tension between research, incentives, and real-world outcomes
• How AI could help clinicians ask better questions of their patients’ data
If you’re a physio, PT, chiro, OT, pain coach, or any clinician working with persistent pain, this conversation will give you a concrete way to move beyond the “magic hands” model and into measurable, whole-person care.
📩 Connect with Mark / Modern Pain Care:
Community & Courses: https://modernpaincare.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/modernpaincare
Podcast: https://podcast.modernpaincare.com
***AFFILIATE LINKS - I earn a small commission for any purchases through these links that help support the show****
Microphone I use - https://amzn.to/3UsTJ2W
Boom arm for microphoe - https://amzn.to/4bs7zZs
Audio interface/mixer - https://amzn.to/42qTPd4
What I use to record my podcast - https://modernpaincare.com/riverside
What I use to live stream - https://modernpaincare.com/ecamm
What camera I use - https://amzn.to/3HKZilv
What lens I use - https://amzn.to/3HNdJWi
What lights I use - https://amzn.to/49kjvdQ
My teleprompter - https://amzn.to/49lhZrJ
Teleprompter screen - https://amzn.to/42opNqz
Streamdeck XL - https://amzn.to/4bqs7S4
Streamdeck + - https://amzn.to/3SIuFna
Wireless mics I use - https://amzn.to/3Sr4Mqv
📸 - Follow us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/modernpaincare/
🐦 - Follow us on Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/modernpaincare/
🎙️ - Listen to our Podcast - https://www.modernpaincare.com
____________________________________
Modern Pain Care is a company dedicated to spreading evidence-based and person-centered information about pain, prevention, and overall fitness and wellness