Dr. Mervyn Travers, a physiotherapist and strength coach, dives into active inference, a cutting-edge concept in pain science. He explains how our brains predict bodily responses, reshaping our understanding of persistent pain. Mervyn emphasizes the importance of movement experimentation in recovery and the need to rethink how exercise is prescribed in pain management. He also highlights the influence of culture and prior beliefs on pain perception, advocating for compassion and nuanced approaches in patient care.
01:11:54
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Brain as Prediction Machine
Active inference views the brain as a predictive machine minimizing surprise or prediction error to maintain preferred biological states.
Pain and conscious experiences are predictions that the brain confirms or updates via sensory inputs and actions.
insights INSIGHT
Pain Beyond Tissue Damage
Pain is a conscious experience shaped by prior beliefs, culture, and social context, not only tissue damage.
What patients are told and expect influences their pain perception as much as biological factors.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Explore Patients’ Pain Beliefs
Clinicians should deeply explore patients' pain beliefs and social context to understand their internal pain model.
Accept that some patients’ models are fixed and this reduces clinician burnout and unrealistic expectations.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In 'Being You: A New Science of Consciousness,' Anil Seth presents a radical new theory of consciousness, arguing that we are 'prediction machines' constantly inventing and correcting our perception of the world. The book delves into the biological mechanisms of the brain, exploring how billions of neurons create our conscious experience. Seth discusses the 'controlled hallucination' viewpoint, active inference, and the 'beast machine' theory, which views consciousness as a process of regulating the body's essential variables through interoceptive signals. The book is a synthesis of philosophy, science, literature, and personal experience, making complex science accessible and engaging[1][3][5].
The Experience Machine
How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality
Andy Clark
In this book, Andy Clark explores the theory that the brain is a powerful, dynamic prediction engine that mediates our experience of both body and world. He illustrates how reality is a complex synthesis of sensory information and expectation, and how this predictive process shapes all human experience, from mundane to sublime. Clark discusses the implications for mental health, society, and our understanding of conditions such as chronic pain and mental illness, suggesting new approaches to treatment. The book also delves into how perception is a form of controlled hallucination and how our minds are entangled with our environments and internal states.
Surfing Uncertainty
Surfing Uncertainty
Andy Clark
In this episode of The Shoulder Physio Podcast, Dr Jared Powell sits down with Dr Mervyn Travers, physiotherapist, S&C coach, and researcher, to explore one of the most compelling frameworks in contemporary pain science: active inference.
They discuss how this predictive brain model helps explain persistent musculoskeletal pain, why traditional exercise-based interventions might miss the mark, and how clinicians can use movement and context to shift a patient’s pain experience. Merv blends philosophy, neuroscience, and clinical pragmatism in a way that's accessible, challenging, and highly relevant.
Key talking points:
What is active inference and how does it relate to predictive processing?
The role of prior beliefs, culture, and clinical language in shaping pain
Movement experimentation as a tool for model updating and recovery
Why it’s time to rethink how we prescribe exercise in pain rehab
Clinical implications from landmark studies within the field that lend themselves to active inference
A call for compassion, curiosity, and nuance in patient care
The Shoulder Physio Podcast 
