When we’re young, we often hear the phrase “you are what you eat.” While this is true, it doesn’t paint the full picture. Kathleen Holton, PhD, MPH, has dedicated her career to mapping the ways food can influence pain pathways in our bodies, studying the chemical processes behind physical pain and its psychiatric comorbidities. Her groundbreaking research on glutamate receptors has shown that a dietary approach may hold the answer, offering promising results for treating conditions such as fibromyalgia and migraines.

In this two-part episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA, and co-host Mustafa Broachwala, DO, are joined by Kathleen Holton, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Health Studies at American University, to discuss the science behind managing pain with diet and how these systems work within the body.

Tune in to discover:

• How food impacts the central nervous system response to pain
• Why changes in diet often relieve physical pain and psychiatric symptoms
• Chronic diseases that can benefit from a dietary approach
• The role of glutamate in pain processing

Exploring the boundaries of pain management, the Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative (PHRI) pursues groundbreaking research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for pain patients. By examining how these psychoactive compounds act at the intersection of pain, identity, and memory in our brains, Dr. Furnish’s work has challenged our understanding of pain mechanisms while paving the way for novel treatments that may offer effective long-lasting relief.

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA, and co-host Mustafa Broachwala, DO, are joined by Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and the Medical Director of PHRI at UC San Diego Health, Timothy Furnish, MD, to discuss the background, mechanism of action, and potential efficacy of psychedelics for pain management and what they tell us about pain pathways in the brain. 

Tune in to discover:

• An overview of the history and background in medicine and culture
• How psychedelics influence pain pathways
• Psychotherapeutic practices in pain medicine
• Novel therapies and prospective clinical trials for phantom limb pain
• What psychedelics mean for the future of pain medicine

Working on the pandemic’s front lines, Soo Kim, MD, was part of the medical team at Johns Hopkins University that first identified and treated signs and symptoms of Long COVID and its chronic pain symptoms. Her groundbreaking involvement in one of the first Post-Acute COVID Syndrome (PACS) Clinics has since become the blueprint for how many physicians treat acute and chronic pain among Long COVID patients.

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA, is joined by special guest host Mustafa Broachwala, DO, to interview the Director of Pain Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Soo Kim, MD, to discuss her contributions to Long COVID research and some of the novel therapies she’s developed and encountered to treat COVID-19-related pain.

Tune in to discover:

• How doctors first discovered the existence of Long COVID
• The science behind Long COVID-related pain syndromes
• Diagnostic tools for identifying certain Long COVID-related pain syndromes 
• Novel therapies to treat neuropathic and neuralgic pain in COVID-19 patients

In the second episode of our two-part conversation with Dr. Andrea Chadwick, MD, MSc, FASA, she discusses the obstacles she overcame on her path to developing a successful research lab in a field she is passionate about. Listen in as she shares her professional and personal struggles and outlines the blueprint other researchers can use to harness their potential and advocate for patients with invisible illnesses. 

Join host Dr. Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA, in this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast as she continues her conversation with Dr. Chadwick about launching FACE Lab, a pain exploration lab dedicated to advancing research on fibromyalgia. The two discuss how Dr. Chadwick secured funding for FACE Lab and what her successes can teach other physicians about jump-starting their careers in medical research.   

Tune in to discover: 

• Strategic approaches to applying for grant funding in your area of specialization
• How medical research can give you independence as a medical professional
• How to translate personal struggles into professional successes
• Why following your passion is one of the most effective ways to help patients

Research is the backbone of medical innovation. However, it can be challenging to find the resources and support needed to launch your own research lab and lay the foundation for its success. Dr. Andrea Chadwick is no stranger to the adversities researchers face–tune in as she shares her struggles and outlines the steps others can take to follow their passions into research and secure funding for their projects. 

In this two-part episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA, invites Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Andrea Chadwick, MD, MSc, FASA, to revisit the journey she took to create FACE Lab, a pain exploration lab dedicated to advancing research on fibromyalgia.

Tune in to discover: 

• How pursuing a career in medical research can help you discover your passions
• The importance of mentorships and cultivating professional networks
• Why rejection is an essential step on the path to success and how to cope with it
• How to garner support for your medical research and apply for funding

Pain management is more than just treating the causes of pain. How you communicate with patients shapes how they think about their pain–the right educational tools can improve recovery rates by mitigating the effect pain has on the rest of a patient’s life.

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, guest host Beth Darnall, PhD., sits down with Penney Cowan, the founder and CEO of the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA), an institution dedicated to educating patients and patient families for more than 40 years. They discuss Penney’s journey from a patient suffering from pain to a leading figure in the world of pain management and how her work revolutionized how we talk about pain today.

Tune in to discover:

• How patients experience pain differently than doctors might think 
• Innovative tools that bridge the communication gap between doctors and patients
• Strategies medical professionals can use to help patients cope with pain
• How pain extends far beyond the patient’s body
• Why addressing pain is just as important as treating the underlying condition
• How listening to patients can help doctors improve treatment 

One of the more innovative pain care models to debut recently involves a multidisciplinary team of acute and chronic pain specialists working together to reduce opioid utilization after surgery and improve patient satisfaction. How does the model work and what are lessons learned from scaling a perioperative pain clinic? 

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Dr. Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, MBA,  sits down with Associate Professor and Director of the Perioperative Pain Program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Marie N. Hanna, MD, MEHP, MBBCh to discuss how she innovated, launched and scaled a personalized perioperative pain clinic. 

Results of this model, one of the first in the U.S., have been overwhelmingly positive with reduced hospital stays and readmissions, reduced opioid usage, and improved patient satisfaction. 

Tune in to discover: 

• How the personalized perioperative pain clinic  at Johns Hopkins was started 
• Why well-coordinated care and tapering protocols can reduce opioid usage in the short- and long-term for patients 
• Ways to assemble a multidisciplinary team featuring acute and chronic pain specialists
• How the transition from acute post-surgical pain to chronic post-surgical pain is handled  
• The importance of educating patients on pain treatment (and what it can do for your results)
• Success rates and resource utilization expectations using this treatment model 

Data has long been used to predict whether certain patients will respond well to treatment. The next step in the evolution of using algorithm-centered tools to chart the course for pain medicine is the personalized care made possible through precision medicine technology. 

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., chats with Christina Le-Short, MD, MBA, senior director of clinical development and strategy at Scipher Medicine, a precision immunology company. They discuss the current state of healthcare and explore the prospect of AI-powered solutions as well as other innovative technologies. How are these new tools–and their ability to visualize outcomes that physicians alone cannot–shaping the future of pain care? How can a clinician contribute to industry? 

Tune in to discover:

• How clinical experience helps inform research and data analysis in roles outside of patient care–regardless of the level or amount of time the clinician has practiced
• The process for innovation, from thinking outside the box from the outset to daring to approach status-quo solutions from a different angle
• Tips for the professional journey of a clinician who wishes to contribute to industry
• How to network, gain knowledge from peers, and understand the markets for medicine through the pursuit of an MBA

With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn already taking up so much of our free time, why would a busy pain physician consider adding TikTok to their social media routine? With more people receiving their news through social media, it’s more critical than ever that doctors convey accurate information to the public about pain medicine and pain treatment, and TikTok has grown to be one of the best platforms to spread awareness to interested audiences.

In this episode of the Pain Matters Podcast, host Shravani Durbhakula, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., sits down with anesthesiologist and social media sensation Kunal Sood, MD, whose TikTok account reaches more than 1.4 million followers. Dr. Sood focuses on putting his own twist on the trends while providing a valuable resource for viewers, and in this episode, he shares how other physicians can use the platform to spread awareness of the latest news in pain medicine.

Tune in to discover:

• A basic overview of how TikTok works and how its evolving user demographics is allowing doctors to reach a broad audience
• How good actors can break through the rampant misinformation on these social media platforms
• Ways to protect yourself from liability on the platform, such as pushing viewers to talk to their doctor
• Additional tips for creating videos, publishing content, and creating a following 
• How your TikTok following can help you grow your audience on other platforms

Beginning in 2020, we saw an exponential growth of opioid overdose deaths throughout the nation alongside an increase in the isolation of at-risk individuals, economic instability, impeded access to care, a shortage of PPE, and self-medication for high-stress levels. Though some of the risk factors have declined as the global pandemic response has progressed, it’s no surprise that pain medicine innovators continue to face a steep challenge.

In this episode, host Shravani Durbhakula, MD, is joined by Josh Sharfstein, MD, Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former Deputy Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to discuss current approaches to pain medication addiction and the room for innovation in the fight against overdose deaths.