Flippin' Pain Formula

Episode 6 - Recovery is possible

You're listening to Professor Cormac Ryan of Teesside University and the Flippin' Pain team. We're here to flip your understanding of persistent pain. This is Episode 6 - Recovery is possible.Niki (Person with persistent pain) told us:“Recovery is possible. But it looks different for everyone and often looks different to how you expect it will."Recovery came for me when I stopped only looking externally for a cure, and turned inwards, flipped my understanding of pain and made changes in my thinking, behaviour and lifestyle. I found life opened out again and became bigger, braver and better. Recovery can require hard work, commitment and courage, but it’s oh so worth it. Self-compassion underpins everything, as does the willingness to take control of your own pain experience."Recovery is possible, even after many years of not believing it was."For more information and a transcript of this podcast, ⁠visit the Flippin' Pain website⁠.

Episode 5 - Understanding your pain can be key

You're listening to Professor Cormac Ryan of Teesside University and the Flippin' Pain team. We're here to flip your understanding of persistent pain. This is Episode 5 - Understanding your pain can be key.Louise (Person with persistent pain) told us:“Understanding pain is so important to learning how to manage it. I didn’t understand it for many, many years."I believed for example, that for anything that hurt I could go to see my GP and get it ‘fixed’ either with a treatment or with a prescription for a medication. In reality of course, that isn’t always the case. That pain does not always mean there is damage is one of the most important things I learned. It stays in my mind whenever I have a flare up of my pain."Flippin’ my understanding of pain - learning the basics about pain and how it works - has helped me enormously."It has enabled me to develop self-management skills that I had no idea existed. There are many techniques to explore- no one size fits all.”For more information and a transcript of this podcast, ⁠visit the Flippin' Pain website⁠.

Episode 4 - Medicines and surgeries are often not the answer

You're listening to Professor Cormac Ryan of Teesside University and the Flippin' Pain Team. We're here to flip your understanding of persistent pain. This is Episode 4 - Medicines and surgeries are often not the answer.Deepak (Consultant in Pain Medicine) said:"Pain is influenced by not just biological but also psychological and social factors, which surgery and medications alone cannot address."It needs to be managed holistically with attention to many factors including physical activity, education, nutrition, sleep and well-being."When it comes to persistent pain, we know that things like medicines and surgery work for only a minority of people, and only for short durations of time. Effective pain management should prioritise longer-term plans, that work for more people."It’s also important to be aware that medications and surgery often come with a number of really bad side effects. These can become a bigger problem, and actually make our internal pain-relieving system less effective!"So, the best way to overcome pain is to use lots of simple strategies starting with first understanding your pain."For more information and a transcript of this podcast, visit the Flippin' Pain website.

Episode 3 - Everything matters when it comes to pain

You're listening to Professor Cormac Ryan of Teesside University and the Flippin' Pain team. We're here to flip your understanding of persistent pain. This is Episode 3 - Everything matters when it comes to pain.Claire (person living with persistent pain) told us:"When I decided to take control of my pain, I was looking for that one thing that would make me better."Would it be osteopathy, physio, chiropractic… or would it be another medication?  It was none of those things.  And yet it was everything."Things that I would once have thought would never impact my pain, DID affect my pain. My personality, my feelings, my outlook on life, my relationships, whether I was stressed or anxious – all of them could contribute towards the worsening of my pain."Once I began to understand my pain better and the science behind it, and looked at elements like my behaviours, my thought patterns and paying special attention to my wellbeing, I began to feel the positive results and reap the benefits."Absolutely everything matters when it comes to pain.”This episode was originally three episodes: we've combined them into one!You can find more information and a transcript of this episode on the Flippin' Pain website.

Episode 2 - Hurt does not always mean harm

You're listening to Professor Cormac Ryan of Teesside University and the Flippin' Pain team. We're here to flip your understanding of persistent pain. This is Episode 2 - Hurt does not always mean harm.Asim (GP and Pain Management Specialist) told us:"It may seem strange, but pain levels and severity of injury are NOT closely linked."It’s entirely possible- common in fact- to experience ongoing pain in the absence of any structural changes or damage to your body.  You experience pain, but medical scans and tests are normal."This doesn’t mean that the pain we experience is not real. Far from it: pain is ALWAYS real.  It’s just one of the reasons that pain is complex – there’s far more to it than the health of our tissues (our bones, joints, muscles etc.)."In fact, as the next section will show you, EVERYTHING matters when it comes to pain."For more information and a transcript of this podcast, ⁠visit the Flippin' Pain website⁠.