21st Century Pain Solutions

What if you could get healed "manually" without the need for drugs? What if your pain could go away just from specific techniques? This is what Sumit Singh discusses today as he joins me on this podcast. He talks about manual osteopath therapy, a form of manual therapy which focuses on readjustment and the manipulation of the body. His insightful knowledge can help point many patients in the direction they need to overcome the pain they're experiencing.

ABOUT SUMIT SINGH

SUMIT SINGH has completed his manual osteopathy course from the National Academy of Osteopathy in Toronto. He has worked as a senior physiotherapist for more than 7 years back home in India, has owned various physiotherapy centres, and worked as a sports physiotherapist for the various associations of field hockey, football (soccer), cricket. He is trained in cranio-sacral therapy and visceral manipulation as well as many other areas. 

Did you know that when blood enters areas in our body, the repair is accelerated? Did you know we can force blood to enter into these areas by triggering the spots? This is what Dr. Mehrtash Amini discusses on the podcast today as he breaks down the effectiveness of trigger point injection and how it can help our bodies heal.

ABOUT DR. MEHRTASH AMINI

Dr. Mehrtash Amini graduated from the Iran University of Medical Sciences and worked in the military as a medical officer. He later moved to Canada and worked in a family practice and emergency unit. He is an expert on the topic of trigger point injection and its usage as therapy for patients dealing with chronic pain. 

Did you know that both sleep and chronic pain are affected by each other? Chronic pain can affect sleep, and as a result, sleep will affect chronic pain! Cynthia Rodriguez joins me on this podcast to discuss how to break this endless cycle so you can fix your sleep, win the battle against chronic pain, and develop good sleeping habits.

ABOUT CYNTHIA RODRIGUEZ

Cynthia is a family nurse practitioner and has worked in sleep medicine at the Corvallis Clinic for the last 13 years. She became interested in pain science since pain was one of the most common complaints affecting the sleep of her patients. She has worked in a wide variety of disciplines from operating rooms in NYC to the Peace Corps, to her current role in sleep medicine. 

Did you know that essential oils have anti-inflammatory properties? Did you know that they have the potential to help with chronic pain? That's what Rita Bergsma discusses with me as she joins this podcast to explain the health benefits of essential oils. Listen to this podcast and see how these readily available oils can impact your chronic pain.

ABOUT RITA BERGSMA

Rita Bergsma is a wife, mother, grandmother, nurse, gardener,  novice beekeeper, crafter, cabin owner, water enthusiast and has a passion for learning more about healing properties of Essential Oils. She graduated from Royal Columbian Hospital School of Nursing, New Westminster , British Columbia. 

Did you know that just because you have pain in a spot, it doesn't mean there is damage there? Because pain and damage aren't necessarily correlated, different approaches can be taken to overcome it. Joletta Belton joins me on this podcast to discuss her experience with chronic pain that ended her career as a firefighter and caused her to dive deep into understanding what happened to her and how others can do the same.

ABOUT JOLETTA BELTON

Joletta Belton is a nature lover, bibliophile, and storyteller. She is cofounder of the Endless Possibilities Initiative, a nonprofit with a mission of empowering people with pain to live well. 

She is also the creator of MyCuppaJo.com, where she makes sense of pain and healing through science and stories. 

Both projects were born of her experiences living with chronic pain, pain that forced her to medically retire from her job as a firefighter paramedic, the career that had defined her. 

Her desire to understand her pain led her back to graduate school, where she earned her MSc in human movement and studied pain science as her research focus. 

Now Jo explores what she has discovered through the lens of her personal story in hopes of starting meaningful conversations about pain, healing, and being human that lead to better possible paths forward for all of us: patients, carers, clinicians, and researchers alike. 

It is only by coming together, sharing multiple perspectives and forms of knowledge and expertise, that we can improve the way pain is studied, understood, and treated.   

Did you know that because the body is made up of water, sound sends vibrations through it? What if we could use sound vibrations to eliminate pain? This is exactly what Elizabeth Mueller discusses on this podcast episode. She focuses on sound therapy, a form of healing that relieves tension from the body. She breaks down the science behind it as well as her case studies to demonstrate it.

ABOUT ELIZABETH MUELLER

Elizabeth has studied many different traditions of yoga and honours them all including Kriya/Hatha Yoga, Meditation, Sound Therapy Massage with Tibetan Bowl, gongs, bells and drums. Elizabeth has her healing practice in Harrison Hot Springs. 

She works with elders and seniors in the community bringing healing, breathwork and movement. 

She offers workshops, ongoing classes and individual treatments to those who seek out alternative healing practices. 

Her teachings are a blend of her experiences, like the precision of the Iyengar tradition, the flow of a Vinyasa Class and the deep realization of Ancient Kriya. 

Since 2000 Elizabeth Mueller has been a full time teacher, offering classes and Yoga Seminars and Holidays on boats and in ancient ruins in Italy, Turkey, Germany, India, Austria and throughout British Columbia. 

Did you know that a big body yawn can release muscle tension? We do it when we wake up and animals do it 42 times a day. There's a science behind what it really is, how it works, and what makes it effective. Teresa Ojinma joins me on this podcast to discuss somatic movement and how she works with patients to relieve chronic muscle pain. 

Teresa is a Certified Exercise Physiologist through CSEP (Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology) and a practicing Kinesiologist with BCAK (British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists). 

She earned her Masters of International Healthcare Management, Economics and Policy degree from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy after completing her Bachelors of Kinesiology degree at Simon Fraser University. 

She also holds a Certificate of Applied Human Nutrition from SFU. She is currently completing her certification in Somatic Movement Education Teacher Training and is teaching Somatic Movement classes and workshops at the Akasha Studio in South Surrey, BC. She also does in-home personal training and trains some clients at a private gym in South Surrey. 

For over ten years, she has been promoting healthy lifestyles through exercise and nutrition. 

For the past year and a half that she has been practicing, studying and applying Somatic Movement Education, it is truly a vital tool in teaching her students and clients how to move more effectively, efficiently and painlessly by improving body awareness and overall wellness. 

She believes in taking a holistic approach to health and wellness that includes the mind, body and spirit, as well as continual learning to fully equip herself with the knowledge, skills, and resources to successfully motivate, educate and inspire others toward healthy living. 

What if the emotional fear that keeps you from interacting with people could be overcome? What if it's easier to do that than you think? That's what Karin Klein Galbraith talks about as she joins me on this podcast. She breaks down what it's like to break down your fear and blast through it so you can live an empowered life. 

With empathy and the insight to help you learn, Karen is ‘The magic to move your life force forward!’ Karen Klein has lived a life of truth, accountability and unstoppable achievement. As a business person, mom and TED talk speaker she has followed her heart's desires with a strategic focus: moved to a foreign country, completed a degree while working full-time and become a hospice volunteer in a pet-therapy program for those at end of life. It worthy to mention-these are all things that scared her, as in heartpounding with clammy hands type of fear. Karen knows that change can be difficult. 

What if you could prevent future surgeries just by fixing your posture today? 

Years of bad posture can reflect misalignment and compensation for issues our bodies are experiencing. 

Today, I break down a formula I've been using with patients that helps them to eliminate posture issues, get back to natural alignment, and prevent chronic pain issues from arising. 

I give you some great tips on this podcast that you can do WHILE you're listening to it! Enjoy! 

What would you do if you were stuck in a neck brace for 22 months with suicidal thoughts? This is what happened to Roy Campbell after a threatening injury that changed the trajectory of his athletic career. He was told he would never be able to run and that walking would be an extremely difficult task. On this podcast, Roy joins me to talk about how he went from that outcome to actually running in the Sahara Desert for seven days, competing in the Ironman, and the Hawaii World Championships. This truly breathtaking story will have you listening to it more than once. 

Roy Campbell is a powerful inspirational speaker and a Youth Worker working with at-risk youth.  He was born in England, grew up in Jamaica then later returned back to England. AT 20 years old he began a playing professional rugby league career in both England and New Zealand. At the age 23 and with a promising career ahead of him but during a game he was tackled by three players, lifted into the air and driven head first into the ground, breaking his neck in 3 places.

Over the course of 8 months, he underwent 2 major operations to fuse and wire C1, C2 & C3 then spending nearly 2 years in either traction, wearing a halo attached to his skull or a neck brace. Doctors said that he would NEVER be able to run again, and at best walk with a limp for the rest of his life.

Over the years Roy has refused to give up and has proved the doctors wrong. He has participated in some of the world’s toughest endurance races including the legendary Marathon Des Sables, a 7 day self-sufficient run through Moroccan Sahara Desert and has also raced through the Brazilian Amazon Jungle where he was stroked by Jaguares and attacked by Giant Hornets. He went on to race in the Hawaii Ironman World Championship and continues to participate in adventures around the world.