Experience pain on a daily basis? Don’t understand the differences between chronic and acute pain? Join us as we dive into these terms and what it really means to have pain.  We also explain how your beliefs about the pain you experience can change the way your body receives it. Listen as we break down methods for you to ease the pain within your own body. Then later, listen to Matt Erb explain why he transitioned from a doctor of physical therapy using traditional methods to a more integrated approach.  Listen as he breaks down what it really means to be an integrated or biopsychosocial therapist and how a session with one would look.  Join him as he takes you through simple breathing exercises to become more aware of your body.  Lastly, he explains how trauma can cause pain within the body and why.

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Looking for a movement community that gives you the plan specific to your body? Need accountability and a plan that is specific to your restrictions?! Come grab a free week of our Jen Health Membership! You'll have access to 12 plans that were all curated by Doc Jen, Dr of Physical Therapy. We make sure you get set up with the plan that will be best for your goals and the rest is laid out for you to follow! Come check it out today! You can even get a discount on your first month using code OPTIMAL at checkout!

Strong Coffee Discount:

We also mention Strong Coffee throughout the episode. To get your next quality latte for a discount using code “OPTIMAL15” at checkout!

What You Will Learn in this episode:

PT Pearl:

Explaining Pain Perception and How to Approach Your Acute or Chronic Pain

01:06 – The difference between acute and chronic pain - Why they occur

04:42 – How to approach your acute pain

08:49 – How to approach chronic pain - Why pain can be good

14:54 – Things that do NOT cause back pain - Why trigger points do NOT determine pain

17:13 – What fills up your “bucket” that could cause chronic pain - How to address it

21:02 – How to change your beliefs on your pain

22:15 – Why, with chronic pain, doing movements that give you pain may be more beneficial

To Watch the PT Pearl on YouTube, click here: https://youtu.be/UYXrqQrrq2w

Interview with Matt Erb: 

26:27 – What inspired Matt to become a physical therapist with the beliefs he has today

28:01 – What caused Matt to transition from a traditional practice to a more integrated practice

30:26 – What integrated physical therapy is and what that means

33:17 – How you can find an integrated therapist under “biopsychosocial” - How a session looks

37:13 – How Matt evaluates his patients and changes the perception of him “fixing” them

40:05 – Breathing exercise with Matt to become more aware with your body

44:23 – How Matt leads people into the awareness of breath

47:31 – How trauma and early stress exposure can play a role in someone’s journey

About Matt Erb:

Matt Erb is a physical therapist, originally trained at the University of Iowa, and currently based out of Tucson. He is a Senior Faculty member, Clinical Supervisor, and a Clinical Program Lead for The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Washington D.C. He has a clinical practice with Simons Physical Therapy, Tucson AZ, that focuses on mind-body integrated care. Matt is also Founder of Embody Your Mind, specializing in high quality writing, teaching, and consulting in integrative and mind-body medicine topics.

For full show notes on Matt Erb and all other information, links, and resources from episode, visit: https://jen.health/podcast/23