
Pain Science Education
Pain Science Education discusses the treatment of persistent pain. Learn how to use the brain, body, mind, and behavior to reduce pain and improve physical and mental well-being. This podcast offers free training for physical therapists, healthcare professionals, and people with pain.
Dr. Joe Tatta is a physical therapist, educator, author, and pain researcher. He is known for his contribution to integrative pain care and for championing the safe and effective treatment of chronic pain. With over 20 years of clinical expertise, Dr. Joe is dedicated to converting cutting-edge pain science into actionable therapeutic practices. An advocate for a biopsychosocial approach, Dr. Joe developed PRISM: Pain Recovery and Integrative Systems Model, a cognitive-behavioral approach that promotes resilience, growth, and recovery.
Pain Science Education invites listeners to explore a wide array of subjects including pain education, pain neuroscience, physical therapy, physiotherapy, pain psychology, wellness, and continuing education. Episodes feature interviews with leading experts, offering a deep dive into the pivotal topics shaping the field of pain management.
The insights shared here aim to propel the practice of physical therapy to the forefront of primary pain management. Dr. Joe Tatta is committed to guiding therapists and healthcare providers through the complexities of pain, equipping them with the knowledge to deliver non-pharmacologic and non-invasive approaches to chronic pain.
With Dr. Joe's guidance, listeners will uncover the potential of physical therapists as pivotal figures in pain management, understand the importance of health behavior change, and learn how to use integrative and lifestyle medicine in practice.
Join the Pain Science Education podcast to transform your clinical approach, enrich your professional toolkit, and participate in the revolution of pain management. Each episode promises to take you one step closer to learning about pain, becoming a leader in delivering exceptional, innovative care to those suffering with pain, and ultimately improving lives across the globe.
Latest episodes

Apr 19, 2018 • 39min
Episode 83 | Jennifer Battles: How To Live An Active Life Beyond Pain Combining ACT & PT
Physical Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are two of the most important therapies for pain relief. To live an active life beyond pain, Jennifer Battles believes that combining ACT with PT is the best method. Your time and focus shifts from finding a way to reduce the pain to living your life knowing that your battling the pain and winning it. She shares her research about ACT, values, goals, and how to defuse unpleasant sensations, thoughts and emotions when you are in pain. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Apr 12, 2018 • 34min
Episode 82 | Dr. Beth Darnall: How to Slowly and Successfully Taper Off of Opioids
Dr. Beth Darnall’s most recent paper, Patient Centered Prescription Opioid Tapering in Community Outpatients With Chronic Pain, raised some concern on opioid addiction and the reduction of opioid prescribing. Dr. Darnall highly believes opioids have a place as part of an integrative pain care program for certain types of chronic pain syndromes. If you're somebody who has chronic pain, conservative pain care can be difficult to access because it's often not prescribed. Her paper tackles the role of opioid in chronic pain and the numerous barriers patients have to go through to receive the care they deserve. The study also focused on how patients would do if physicians worked with them in a voluntary patient-centered way, each step of the way allaying their concerns and fears about opioid reduction, and working with them to very slowly reduce their opioids over a certain course. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Apr 5, 2018 • 41min
Episode 81 | Dr. Stephen Porges: Optimizing Human Experiences Through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory
Have you ever wondered how your heart and brain interacts and coordinates? For decades, Dr. Stephen Porges, a leading expert in developmental psychophysiology and developmental behavioral neuroscience, has been studying the connection between human behavior and physiology, specifically the vagus nerve. Dr. Porges’ work on the vagus nerve opens up new insights into the way our autonomic nervous system unconsciously mediates behaviors such social engagement, trust, and intimacy. Simply put, the simple or observable physiological measures open up windows into the nervous system for understanding human behavior. This fresh perspective and its emphasis on the link between our psychological experiences and the physical manifestations in our body is what chronic pain is all about. Learn more about what this theory means and how they can apply to health and the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, autism, and varuous other disorders. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Mar 29, 2018 • 31min
Episode 80 | Dr. Jeffrey Mogil: Sex Differences In Pain And Pain Inhibition
When women get pregnant, they carry the child for nine months then go through hours of labor. The notion that women are more tolerant to pain stems from this. However, studies show that women are greatly over-represented as pain patients. Dr. Jeffrey Mogil explains that women say that they are in pain more often than men do, but that can also mean that women are more prone to diseases that happen to be painful. The only way to know the sex differences in pain between a man and a woman is when they are taken to the lab for tests, which is being done now. However, the questions remains, who really feels more pain, men or women? Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Mar 22, 2018 • 34min
Episode 79 | Dr. Rachna Patel: Is CBD Oil The New Miracle Oil For Chronic Pain Relief?
America is in the middle of an opioid epidemic because it has become the alternative agent for practitioners and patients suffering from chronic pain. It is a natural way of alleviating pain but not without its side effects. There are already 29 states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana for medical purposes, but this still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Dr. Rachna Patel has been working with CBD oil and medical marijuana to develop a methodology that allows her to walk a patient through the healing process without overdosing. She explains that CBD oil isn’t a psychoactive substance, so you should not feel high with regulated intake. Dr. Patel raises the subject on the pros and cons of using the drugs for medical purposes in relieving chronic pain. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Mar 15, 2018 • 32min
Episode 78 | Sharon Salzberg: Exploring Loving-Kindness Meditation To Heal The Body
One way to define mindfulness is awareness of your experience in the present so that your perception of what is happening is not distorted by certain emotions. Being present in the moment of pain allows the mind to tell the body that healing is possible with mindfulness meditation. Sharon Salzberg believes that when you make peace with fear, you can start dealing with your pain. She shares how a world losing a sense of community and human connection can accept love and kindness into their lives leading the soul and the body to feel better. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Mar 8, 2018 • 33min
Episode 77 | Dr. Bronnie Lennox Thompson, How To Live Life Well With Pain And Do What You Love
Freedom to move and perform activities is a privilege most people take for granted. For some people suffering chronic pain, the ease of doing simple tasks is a luxury. Chronic pain has been defined as any pain persisting over twelve weeks. It may result from injury or ongoing illness and may be accompanied with other health problems like sleep deprivation, decreased appetite, and fatigue, limiting a person’s strength and movement and lead to depression and disability. While medication, surgery, and other treatments are the immediate solutions, they do not always eliminate the pain. Dr. Bronnie Lennox Thompson, a pain management specialist, has been helping people with chronic health problems achieve their highest potential in life with chronic pain management through developing a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, as well as physical therapy. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Mar 1, 2018 • 46min
Episode 76 | Dr. Stephan Guyenet: Hunger, The Brain And Why We Overeat
Are you finding it hard to resist sinking your teeth into that third donut? Do you find that your pants are getting a little bit more snug than it was just a couple of weeks ago? You are not alone. The struggle with weight loss has increased over the years with the onslaught of food choices in great portions. Shifting your focus from your gut to your brain may be the answer. Dr. Stephan Guyenet takes us into the inner circuits of the brain and delivers profound insights on how weight loss begins with the brain and why we overeat. These insights provide understanding on what to eat and help develop practical guidelines for eating well and staying slim. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Feb 22, 2018 • 47min
Episode 75 | Dr Kevin Vowles: How To Avoid The Trap Of Negative Thinking Using ACT
It's great to be here with you for another episode. Before this episode, I sat down for a couple of minutes and I started to write out a list of all the different ways we have to treat, alleviate, control, or numb pain. Think about it for just a moment. Think about all the different types of pills, lotions, potions, surgeries, injections, practitioners, and treatments that all claim to resolve pain. It's quite mind-numbing after a while. If I had a nickel every time someone sent me an email or said, "Dr. Joe, what do you think about this diet or this supplement or this exercise or this energy work or tapping?"it can be really confusing, especially if what you're looking for is the best solution for your pain. The irony is if you look at the results of all these treatments, most of them work quite poorly or even worse. More often than not, they really don't provide lasting relief. For decades, we've tried to invent ways to avoid pain, to block it out, to wall it off, and for the most part we failed. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram

Feb 15, 2018 • 35min
Episode 74 | Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo: The Relationship Between Blood Sugar Imbalance And Chronic Inflammation
Blood sugar balance is critical for our cells to get nutrients and energy. Every single organ and system of our body will be affected when there blood sugar imbalance. A symptom of this is brain fog, where the brain just goes offline because it is not getting all its needed nourishment. This imbalance also affects the liver. Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo explains more on how blood sugar can affect the body and how it is even related to chronic pain. She shares that the first step is to dampen the need for sweets and not take it away entirely all at once. Sign up for the latest episode at www.drjoetatta.com/podcasts. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Healing Pain Podcast Community today: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com Healing Pain Podcast Facebook Healing Pain Podcast Twitter Healing Pain Podcast YouTube Healing Pain Podcast LinkedIn Healing Pain Podcast Instagram