In this IASP RELIEF podcast, David Walton PT, PhD, an Associate Professor with the School of Physical Therapy at Western University, Canada, discusses the problem of whiplash, how pain from whiplash injuries is assessed and treated, and much more.

In this RELIEF podcast, Dr. Steven George, PT, PhD, a musculoskeletal pain expert at Duke University, explains what the biopsychosocial model of pain is, how psychological aspects of pain can be incorporated into treatment of musculoskeletal pain, the importance of pain education and self-management, and much more.

Annemieke Kavelaars, PhD, a professor and researcher at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, discusses the connection between chronic pain and the immune system.

Alexander Chesler, a researcher who investigates somatosensation at the US National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, discusses how somatosensation works and what happens in the nervous system when it goes awry.

Helene Langevin, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), discusses the work NCCIH is doing, the research she is focusing on now, and more.

This RELIEF podcast features Christopher Eccleston, PhD, a professor of medical psychology at the University of Bath, UK, where he directs the Centre for Pain Research. Eccleston discusses how chronic pain can be understood as a problem of interruption, interference and identity, along with other ideas from the field of pain psychology. 

Howard Fields, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology and physiology emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco. At the Congress, Fields delivered the John J. Bonica Award lecture, “How Expectations Shape Pain Perception.” Fields sat down for a podcast at the meeting with freelance journalist Stephani Sutherland to discuss the themes of his talk, in particular how motivations, expectations and decision making fit into the experience of chronic pain. 

Two experts working to help people gain control over their pain discuss their work: Psychologist Beth Darnall, PhD, discusses how psychological treatments can help people to ease their pain, and Michael Saenger, MD, speaks of the Empower Veterans Program, which helps veterans suffering from severe, persistent pain to manage their condition.

Catherine Bushnell, a pain researcher and the scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health discusses the work the NCCIH is doing to improve the understanding and treatment of chronic pain. This includes the scientific study of how chronic pain alters the brain for the worse, and how mind-body treatments like yoga, meditation and exercise can change it back for the better.