Pain Coach
Pain Coach
Podcast Description
Welcome to Pain Coach, the podcast designed to empower you to regain control of your pain treatment journey.In each episode, Lachlan Townend shares inspiring stories from individuals who have overcome the obstacles of pain, along with insights from health professionals dedicated to helping you reclaim your life. This podcast offers practical tools and guidance for those who refuse to let pain dictate their lives or steal their dreams.Pain Coach encourages you to find a health professional who acts as a coach—not a 'magic healer'—supporting you in your recovery journey. It’s time to step back into the driver’s seat and reclaim what pain has taken from you.DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed in this podcast do not constitute medical advice and are general in nature. You should obtain specific advice from a qualified health professional before acting on any of the information within this podcast.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on chronic pain management, personal recovery stories, and educational insights into pain science, with episodes discussing topics like mindfulness, graded exposure, and the role of emotional well-being in overcoming pain challenges. For example, Shane Brennan explores meditation's impact on his recovery from Ankylosing Spondylitis, while Ray Chen emphasizes mindfulness after his traumatic bike accident.
Welcome to Pain Coach, the podcast designed to empower you to regain control of your pain treatment journey.
In each episode, Lachlan Townend shares inspiring stories from individuals who have overcome the obstacles of pain, along with insights from health professionals dedicated to helping you reclaim your life. This podcast offers practical tools and guidance for those who refuse to let pain dictate their lives or steal their dreams.
Pain Coach encourages you to find a health professional who acts as a coach—not a ‘magic healer’—supporting you in your recovery journey. It’s time to step back into the driver’s seat and reclaim what pain has taken from you.
DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed in this podcast do not constitute medical advice and are general in nature. You should obtain specific advice from a qualified health professional before acting on any of the information within this podcast.
Could the key to easing chronic joint pain lie in how you sleep?
In this episode, Lachlan Townend talks with Associate Professor Michelle Hall from the University of Sydney’s Musculoskeletal Research Hub. They unpack what osteoarthritis really is, why your X-ray often doesn’t match how you feel and why myths like “bone on bone” and “exercise wears the joint out” don’t hold up.
Then they turn to sleep — why poor sleep doesn’t just follow pain but can actively drive it, how cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) helps most people within weeks, often without medication and what Michelle’s clinical trials could mean for the future of pain care.
If you live with pain, or treat people who do, it’s a practical and hopeful listen.
Resources
- Is sleep contributing to you or your patients’ pain? Try Pain Coach for free and find out: Click here
- Lachlan Townend on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lachlan-townend/
- Michelle Hall on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-hall-548627111/
- Michelle’s research profile: https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/michelle.hall/about
- Musculoskeletal Research Hub, University of Sydney (Charles Perkins Centre): https://www.sydney.edu.au/charles-perkins-centre/our-research/research-groups/musculoskeletal-research-hub.html
- Musculoskeletal Research Hub on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/111559366/
- Online sleep resources based in cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (Sleepio): https://sleepio.bighealth.com/
- SLEEP-FIT Trial (sign up): https://redcap.sydney.edu.au/surveys/?s=AKTTJLD44NNMYMHK
- Referenced paper (open access): Klyne DM, Hall M. Is sleep the new treatment for pain? Two issues need resolving before deciding. Sleep. 2024;47(6):zsae089. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsae089
Key Topics:
00:00 Intro
01:19 Michelle’s path into research
04:00 Why her dad’s pain started it all
08:23 From biomechanics to the whole person
13:04 What osteoarthritis really is (and why scans mislead)
19:52 Myths, exercise & weight loss
27:57 Why sleep matters in pain
31:14 Is sleep the new treatment for pain?
34:16 CBT for insomnia, explained
43:52 Inside the trials
52:07 Beyond knees: other pain
55:24 Where to start
57:23 One habit from lasting relief
58:20 Find Michelle
Disclaimer
This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed do not constitute medical advice and are general in nature. Please obtain specific advice from a qualified health professional before acting on any information in this episode.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
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