Pain Coach

About Pain Coach

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.

Publisher

Lachlan Townend

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Oct 2024

Latest episode

31 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   31 Aug 2026

   The Lifestyle Levers That Influence Your Entire Pain System | Derek Griffin (PhD)

   Lachlan Townend sits down with Derek Griffin (PhD), a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist (Pain) and pain researcher based in Tralee, Ireland, who has spent his career untangling the science of chronic pain without losing sight of the person in front of him. Derek shares why he sees pain as a fundamentally protective (sometimes overprotective) system, and why he refuses to get lost in debates about nociception, central sensitisation and nociplastic pain when a patient in front of him needs a real next step. The conversation covers the fatigue of being told "pain is complex" without ever getting something actionable, the shift from treating a joint to treating a whole person, why the simplest lifestyle levers such as sleep, exercise, social connection, psychological wellbeing and nutrition are most pivotal and Derek's honest take on the debate around hands-on therapy. Whether you're a clinician working in a multidisciplinary team, someone living with persistent pain trying to make sense of your own story, or somewhere in between, this episode is a grounded, evidence-informed and genuinely human look at what it takes to help someone recover their quality of life. RESOURCES: - Pain Coach: Clinical software helping clinicians turn complex chronic pain into simple habit targets. Sign-up here: https://paincoach.co [https://paincoach.co?utm_src=DGpod] - Derek Griffin's socials:  X [https://x.com/DerekGriffin86] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/derek_griffin_phd/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-griffin-0a63a420/] - Listen to Peter O'sullivan episode mentioned here [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/pain-coach/id1777327098?i=1000734651402] KEY TOPICS: 00:00 — Teaser 00:54 — Medical disclaimer 01:41 — Interview starts: Derek's marathon running and PB (2:27:04, Valencia) 04:22 — Why Derek got into chronic pain: his PhD path 06:37 — What his PhD research found 08:42 — Derek's clinical role at Bon Secours Hospital 10:58 — Why multidisciplinary care matters 11:37 — How Derek explains pain to patients 12:01 — The "is pain a protector" debate 14:02 — The neuroimmune system, explained simply 16:34 — Where modern pain explanations go wrong 18:41 — Why pain education has to drive behaviour change, not just belief 21:19 — Navigating different beliefs inside a multidisciplinary team 23:52 — Zooming into the nervous system: nociceptive vs. neuropathic vs. nociplastic pain 30:39 — The "pain is complex" fatigue 34:57 — Why simple lifestyle advice can feel invalidating - the habit-change problem 37:57 — The biggest controversy in pain science: is nociception necessary for pain? 41:15 — Shifting from "joint health" to "person health" (knee osteoarthritis) 46:14 — The big five modifiable factors: sleep, exercise, social connection, psychological wellbeing, nutrition 47:31 — How sleep affects the neuroimmune system — and your pain 54:05 — Pain Coach ad 54:33 — Is hands-on treatment necessary? The telehealth debate 1:00:29 — Derek's advice for anyone currently in pain Disclaimer: This podcast is not personalised medical advice. Please consult a health professional before acting on anything discussed.

2. 

   1 Aug 2026

   Skeptical About Psychology for Chronic Pain? This Episode Will Change Your Mind | Sophie O'Dwyer

   Got a sore back and rolling your eyes at the idea of "seeing a psychologist for it"? You're not alone and this episode is for you. Lachlan puts that exact skepticism to pain psychologist Sophie and what follows is a masterclass in the real, physiological role psychology plays in persistent pain. They unpack the "window of tolerance," why the nervous system can become overprotective, how adverse life experiences shape our pain response and why phantom limb pain proves pain is never just about tissue damage. From practical tools - progressive muscle relaxation, the stress bucket analogy, graded exposure, CBT, ACT and pain reprocessing therapy - to the bigger picture of why multidisciplinary care changes outcomes, this conversation bridges the physical and psychological divide that so many pain patients get stuck in. Lachlan and Sophie also share the story behind Paced Health, their new multidisciplinary telehealth pain clinic - why they built it, what the name means, and how they're trying to fix the fragmented, confusing experience so many people with chronic pain describe. RESOURCES: - Pain Coach: Clinical software helping clinicians turn complex chronic pain into simple habit targets. Sign-up here: https://paincoach.co [https://paincoach.co?utm_src=sopod] - Paced Health website:  https://www.pacedhealth.com [https://www.pacedhealth.com/] - Paced Health Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pacedhealth/ KEY TOPICS: 00:00 – Cold open: "Can psychology really help my back pain?" 01:00 – Meet Sophie, pain psychologist at Managing Pain 01:36 – Why a psych referral for pain feels invalidating — and how to start 03:17 – Noticing patterns: what pain psychologists actually look for 04:34 – What is nervous system regulation? The "window of tolerance" 06:35 – Signs you're in hyperarousal (fight-or-flight) 07:48 – Signs you're in hypoarousal (shutdown/freeze) 10:13 – How adverse childhood experiences shape your nervous system 12:46 – Complex trauma vs. single-event trauma 16:20 – Why do some people develop PTSD (and pain) — and others don't? 18:43 – How to actually widen your window of tolerance 20:33 – Allostatic load and the "stress bucket" analogy 22:00 – Doing hard things on purpose: habituation and control 27:11 – Phantom limb pain: proof pain isn't just physical 28:31 – Practical tools: breathing, PMR, mindfulness 30:31 – Cognitive functional therapy & movement experiments 33:29 – CBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for pain 35:13 – What is Pain Reprocessing Therapy? 37:17 – Why multidisciplinary teams change outcomes 39:17 – The Paced Health origin story 42:05 – The idea: multiple clinicians, one room, one hour 44:12 – Why the name "Paced Health"? 47:09 – The Tour de France analogy for pacing 49:13 – Why build this business at all? 51:07 – How to get involved (clients + clinicians) 52:13 – Advice for someone at their lowest point with pain 54:27 – Closing thoughts: autonomy, hope, and community Disclaimer: This podcast is not personalised medical advice. Please consult a health professional before acting on anything discussed.

3. 

   30 Jun 2026

   "Are You Telling Me It's All in My Head?" The Truth About Chronic Pain | Prof. Tasha Stanton

   "When Tasha speaks about pain, everyone should listen" - Merv Travers (previous guest and pain researcher) In this episode, Professor of Clinical Pain Neuroscience, Tasha Stanton translates the current science of persistent pain into practical reasoning. Tasha explains that pain is a protective system that can become over-sensitive - in her words, "a system that's working too well." She's candid about what she's moved away from over her career — why giving the brain sole focus, and the notion that "the brain decides," are both inaccurate - and what it takes to communicate pain science without a patient hearing it's all in your head. From there it's straight into application: assessing body perception and two-point discrimination, sensorimotor and tactile discrimination retraining, what the RESOLVE trial suggests about mechanism, the role of systemic inflammation and why loading helps, and using active inference and predictive processing to drive change - including her group's VR cycling work, which improves how patients feel while they work harder. Tasha is also clear that the evidence for persistent pain points to hope rather than inevitability, and she closes with what she'd actually say to a patient in pain. If you treat people in persistent pain and want better outcomes, sharper communication, and theory you can use in clinic, this one's for you. RESOURCES - Pain Coach: Clinical tool discussed by Lachlan. Use today with a patient - click here [https://paincoach.co?utm_src=tspod] - Prof. Tasha Stanton Research: https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/tasha.stanton - The Resolve Trial: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2794765 - The Knee Osteoarthritis Handbook (NOIgroup) - Tasha is a co-author: https://www.noigroup.com/product/knee-osteoarthritis-handbook/ KEY TOPICS 00:00 — Teaser 00:59 — Why Tasha comes so highly recommended 01:31 — From an overwhelming caseload to pain science 03:40 — The mentors who shaped her clinical thinking 05:10 — When the system fails patients: lessons from her mum's care 07:22 — Lachlan's own experience of persistent pain 08:53 — Reframing pain for patients: protection, not damage 10:50 — Pain as a changeable process (bioplasticity) 13:43 — What Tasha changed her mind about — and why clinicians should too 16:06 — Language in clinic: from "brain" to "dysregulated systems" 17:44 — A clinically useful model of pain to share with patients 22:35 — "The carpentry looks good": pain after knee replacement 23:22 — Assessing body perception and post-surgical pain risk 29:52 — A thoracic pain case: what two-point discrimination revealed 31:38 — Sensorimotor retraining in practice: grids, graphesthesia, dosage 33:33 — Does sensory change drive pain change? CRPS & the RESOLVE trial 41:49 — Inflammation, central sensitisation, and why loading helps 44:49 — Translating complexity into simple, actionable interventions 46:48 — A knee OA case: shifting outcomes by shifting the narrative 48:17 — Targeting lifestyle factors for the individual in front of you 49:21 — Optimising the rest–activity balance across 24 hours 51:11 — Applying active inference and predictive processing clinically 52:58 — VR cycling: engineering a prediction error to drive adaptation 56:55 — What to say to a patient who's in pain right now 58:03 — Framing prognosis: hope over inevitability 59:21 — Clinician resources: Pain Plans and where to learn more Disclaimer: Not personalised medical advice, consult a health professional.

Who has been a guest on Pain Coach

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Rachel Zoffness
• Chloe McLeod
• Dr Dan Bates
• Professor Peter O'Sullivan
• Joshua Pate

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 33 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

36

Social presence

91

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Pain Coach

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Pain Coach