"If (the patient) has persistent pain .... complex, I would work on creating a window of decreased pain where we can introduce some more movements/exercises and set some lifestyle goals. One of my main goals is to navigate the patient to a place where they can self manage." Want to know more how Michael treats his patients? Listen to this episode.

Michael Reoch is a Registered Massage Therapist from Vancouver, British Columbia. He graduated in 2007 from the 3000 hour massage therapy program at WCCMT. Michael was the chair of a special interest group called PPGPain which is for RMTs who have a special interest in treating persistent pain. He has helped develop Pain education programs for RMTs in BC through the RMTBC and PainBC. Also, Michael taught advanced clinical and academic classes at WCCMT. He has been a board member of the RMTBC for five years helping to advance the massage therapy profession through science based education. Mike currently runs a private practice in British Columbia and teaches Manual Therapy classes regularly worldwide.

Mike Reoch has been a massage therapist since 2007 and currently runs a private practice in British Columbia. Mike is a past board member and the Chair of the Communications Committee for the Registered Massage Therapy Association of British Columbia. Through that association, Mike founded a professional practice group for pain management to help RMTs pursue special education in pain sciences called PPGPain. Mike now teaches DNM classes regularly worldwide.

Do you know that meditation can lessen the pain in your body? Dr. Jan talks about how to integrate it into your routine.

Jan Carstoniu MD FRCPC qualified as an anaesthesiologist in 1992 after completing his training in Toronto. Prior to entering medical studies he was a licensed psychologist in the province of Québec. He began his practice in the management of chronic pain in 1993 and by the year 2000, this became his full-time occupation.

Until 2015 he was the medical director of Headache & Pain Management, an OHP facility that offered multidisciplinary treatment including interventional therapies for chronic pain.

He continues in private practice as a consultant, providing assessments, assistance with medication management and non-pharmacological treatment including OHIP funded group therapy involving pain education, emotional support, active physical interventions and cognitive behavioral techniques. His practice includes medical-legal cases and he has appeared as an expert witness in the provincial court of Ontario.

He has trained in martial arts for over 40 years and currently is the chief instructor of Toronto Baguazhang where he teaches a Chinese martial arts system developed for bodyguards/security personnel.

"It's important to find the path and solution that works for you. It varies from every patient depending on what they need." says Dr. Alex. Learn more with him!

Dr. Alex Dressler completed his Pain Medicine Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he served as Chief Fellow. He completed his residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center prior to fellowship. Dr. Dressler completed his intern year at Greenwich Hospital part of Yale-New Haven Health.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and his medical doctorate from New York Medical College.

He is Board Certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine by the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Dr. Dressler has a specific interest in the utilization of neuromodulation including spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation. He is trained in both ultrasound and fluoroscopic guided procedures for the treatment of chronic pain.

Of note he was named one of the top 40 doctors under 40 in the state of Pennsylvania while still a fellow due to utilization of social media for inter-institutional collaborations that lead to better care for patients.

Dr. Dressler has multiple publications in peer reviewed journals and a textbook chapter focusing on optimal pain management in the trauma patient.

"I believe that, through patient and practitioner re-education, understanding and therapeutic application, we can change the burden of persistent pain in our society." says Dr. Richard. Learn more with him.

Dr. Richard McIlmoyle graduated in 1994 with a BSc. in biochemistry, from McMaster University, and in 1999 with his Doctor of Chiropractic degree, from Logan College. Most recently (2018) he completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Pain Management from the University of Alberta. He has been practicing as a chiropractor since 2000 in Toronto, Hamilton, and Victoria. Since 2002 he co-owns, and practices in, a thriving interdisciplinary clinic.

He has spent 17 years as a neurology instructor at a local massage college and for the past several years has worked with PainBC, which has a goal to “Empower health care providers with the education, tools, and skills they need to improve the lives of people living with pain.”

He is a member of the Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA), British Columbia Chiropractic Association (BCCA), International Association for the Study of Pain, Work Wellness and Disability Prevention Institute, and the Canadian Academy of Pain Management. As a member of the BCCA Best Practices Task Force, he has collaborated in the completion of a draft framework for Chiropractic best practices.

In 2019, he was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation, subsequently accepting the appointment to the role of Chair of the research committee.

His talk will explore the change he sees as crucial to alter resource allocation for research on manual therapy, with spinal manipulative therapy as the exemplar. Should we continue to throw money at chasing clinical prediction rules for specific modality application.

If you're hurting and you're not depressed, then you're lying or you're crazy. Listen more about what Dr. Andrea can tell you about it.

Andrea M. Trescot, MD, ABIPP, FIPP, CIPS

Andrea Trescot, MD was a pain clinic director in private practice in Orange Park for 10 years before she moved to academics, first as the pain fellowship director at the University of Florida, and then as director of the pain fellowship program and full professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

She then spent several years practicing in the great state of Alaska, but she has returned to her home area of Jacksonville. Dr. Trescot is past president of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), past president of the Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (FSIPP), and past president of the Alaska Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (AKSIPP).

She is also the Chief Medical Officer of Stimwave, a wireless stimulation company. Dr. Trescot has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters, and she is the editor and senior author of a 900-page pain textbook (Peripheral Nerve Entrapments – Clinical Diagnosis and Management).

She is also co-author of PainWise – A Patient’s Guide to Pain Management, as well as co-editor of the three-volume pain review textbook Pain Medicine & Interventional Pain Management – A Comprehensive Review.

She speaks nationally and internationally on topics of pain medicine and interventional pain management.

Why being heard is so important for Chronic Pain patients?

Diane Roylance, Bsc (PT), BSc (Zoology), FCAMPT, cGunnIMS

Diane is a Physiotherapist with 25 years of clinical experience. She has a special interest in persistent pain and complex spine presentations and her patients include elite athletes, weekend warriors, musicians, office workers and those seeking solutions to longstanding pain conditions. She currently consults at Fifth Ave Physiotherapy in Calgary, Alberta and spent 6 years at the Calgary Chronic Pain Centre.

Diane provides continuing medical education to interdisciplinary providers on rehabilitation for chronic pain. As well, she has provided expertise to Primary Care Network groups for chronic low back pain programming, educated medical students and provided education to family physicians on prescribing exercise in the medical office.

Diane has presented to peers on the role of Physiotherapy in Fibromyalgia, Myofascial Pain, Management of Low Back and Pelvic Girdle Pain, contributed to a patient app for persistent pain and sits on the planning committee for the annual Calgary Pain Conference.

Diane is passionate about helping people move and currently provides Virtual Physiotherapy to ensure patients stay safe, healthy and keep momentum with movement during this unusual time of COVID-19.

And, typically, when not working, she’s outside playing in the mountains with her family.

Do you want to know what are effective self help techniques that you can apply if you suffer from Chronic Pain? Learn with my friend Chris Bridgeford.

Chris was born and bred in Forres in Moray, Scotland and has lived there all his life. He was educated at Applegrove Primary School and Forres Academy after which he joined Bank of Scotland in 1976 then took early medical retirement in 1995.

In the 1980s he presented monthly and weekly radio shows with local radio station Moray Firth Radio, one show was one of the first Computer Shows in the country where the broadcast home-made computer programs over the airwaves (all those screechy sounds on tape for those old enough to remember). The second weekly show was for three hours on a Saturday evening with music and competitions and the third was a monthly show which featured only obscure album tracks taking it in turn with three other presenters. He was a member of Forres Community Council from 1990 – 2000 serving as Secretary and Chairman of the Planning Committee. He has also been Secretary of Forres In Bloom, Forres Golf Course Board of Management and finally, The Friends of Falconer Museum for twelve years. He formed Affa Sair in 2015 after emerging from a period of depression due to chronic pain.

He was granted Burgess of The Royal Burgh of Forres for his service to the local community. This is an ancient historical award which allows Burgesses to drive their livestock through the High Street etc; Chris is a self-confessed computer nerd with Apple Macs being his preferred system after he got bored with Windows in the early 2000s.

He first experienced chronic pain in 1978 when he was diagnosed with Sacroiliitis, thereafter Ankylosing Spondylitis. He never conformed to the medical books of the day and after much to-ing and fro-ing and disbelief, he was eventually diagnosed in 2004 with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Along with this came Allodynia and Costochondritis, in 1995 Chris had an aortal-femoral bypass on his left leg and angioplasty on his right. He had to have his gallbladder removed through a cholecystectomy and there followed numerous incisional hernia repairs with the one in 2004 where things went badly wrong and he lost 9 units of blood and nearly his life. There followed numerous bouts of depression until 2014 when things got better. During that time he also developed Diabetes now controlled by insulin and tablets. Sadly, 3 TIA’s in two days and possible heart disease joined his other ailments. He always says he’s had an “interesting” life.

With his confidence and vocabulary returned, Chris decided to form an on-line support group for chronic pain sufferers and to try to get pain services restored at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. So on 14 th April 2015 Affa Sair was born. The initiative was very successful with pain services restored on 3 rd March 2016. This saved chronic pain sufferers having to travel all the way to Aberdeen – a round tip of 140 miles which left sufferers in extra pain for days after the appointment.

Affa Sair now has 481 members, has been mentioned a few times in First Ministers Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and frequently engages with many MSPs from all Political Parties. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic struck Affa Sair had been instrumental in getting £500,000 for NHS Grampian to improve their Pain Services from the Public Health Minister.

Are you curious how a physical therapist is doing Remote Therapy during this pandemic? Get insights from Tim George on how his team have done it efficiently and effectively for over 10 years!

Tim George began working at The Egoscue Method headquarters as a Postural Alignment Specialist in 2004. Tim has taught seminars and workshops internationally and across the USA educating diverse groups of fitness and health care practitioners about The Egoscue Method. He's also served as the director of the Egoscue Online Therapy Department. Tim has a science degree in exercise physiology, and a master's degree in athletic training from California State University, Chico.

There are certain foods that you eat that can certainly trigger the pain your body. Learn more about nutrients, bio hacks, and other modalities that can help you heal your Chronic Pain with Dr. Adella Gerry.

Dr. Adella Gerry, ND (Dr. Della) has been passionate about the power of nature and natural healing from a very young age. She is open and personable and takes great care to listen and understand her patients’ unique situations. Included in her vast skill set is the ability to provide pain management for anyone from athletes to expecting mothers, to those with neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Della has a passion for women's health and has additional training to treat fertility issues, menstrual disorders, menopause, hormonal therapy, and help relieve pregnancy ailments. She has a special interest in Sports Medicine, to help athletes optimize performance and improve recovery time.

Dr. Della obtained her Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria in 2011, majoring in both Biology and Psychology, and graduated in 2015 as a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from Boucher in New Westminster. Dr. Della’s extensive training gives her the expertise to investigate your symptoms and treat the root causes of illness through patient education, nutrition counselling, lifestyle modifications, and applying one or many of her treatments methods of botanical medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, pharmacology, injectable therapies, and physical therapies. Dr. Della has practiced in Vancouver, Salt Spring Island, and Victoria. However, Victoria is her hometown and she is very happy to be back serving her community since early 2017. She currently practices at Pearl Healthcare, a multidisciplinary clinic in the Lansdowne Professional Centre.

Dr Della has two uncommon and very beneficial pieces of equipment in her practice. She has a Class IV Infrared Laser (LiteCure – Light Force 15 Watt Laser) used for decreasing pain, improving healing, and restoring unstable tissues. Class IV Laser can be beneficial for improving many conditions - such as sprains and strains, local pain, restoring function to joints, and healing from surgery. Dr Della utilizes a variety of pain injections - including neural, prolo, neural-prolo, PRP, and hyaluronic acid to improve pain and function in a variety of areas.

In addition, Dr. Della has a Thermal Imaging Camera utilized for Thermal Breast Imaging (also known as breast thermography). She uses these to provide a more complete understanding of possible breast pathologies. Her breast program also includes a physical breast exam at each scan. With initial breast patients a three month follow-up is included to monitor tissues and compare how they are changing over time. The follow-up and physical exam allows more information to improve accuracy of results.

Dr. Della offers a wide variety of services to benefit you on your healing journey.

She also provides 10-minute free consultations if you have any questions about her treatments or about how Naturopathic Medicine could benefit you. For a more detailed description of Dr. Della’s services and treatments or to contact her please visit http://drdella.ca. Dr. Della looks forward to helping you improve your health and wellbeing!

Do you know that there are a lot of options how to treat Chronic Pain aside from using opioids? Dr. Latrice talked more about other interventional approaches in reducing chronic pain.

Dr. Latrice A. Akuamoah, M.D., M.P.H is originally from Chicago. She is a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management physician at The Spine and Pain Institute of New York. She graduated from The University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science in molecular genetics prior to earning her medical degree and master of public health at Tulane University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in anesthesiology at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City followed by a fellowship in interventional pain management at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

A complete evaluation of each patient is performed by Dr. Akuamoah. She uses an evidence-based multimodal approach often recommending behavioral therapy, physical therapy, medications, and cutting edge minimally invasive procedures, when necessary. Dr. Akuamoah has expertise in the treatment of painful conditions of the back and neck, including sciatica, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, and continued pain after spine surgery. She also specializes in treating chronic joint pain, headaches, and neuropathic pain.

Dr. Akuamoah strives to offer her patients new and targeted treatment options that take into account their diverse needs and lifestyles. She takes the time to carefully listen to her patients, so that she can help them reach their goals. She is committed to improving her patients’ quality of life, helping them return to work and other activities that they enjoy.

Dr. Akuamoah has been named to the New York Times Magazine Super Doctors - Rising Stars list. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Anesthesiology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. She regularly attends professional conferences to stay up to date on the latest advances in pain management. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, watching the latest popular TV show, and spending time with her family. While Dr. Akuamoah enjoys a New York pizza slice, she still prefers Chicago-style deep dish.