Back In Control Radio

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks further with Deborah Mellen about her journey through a dark and painful period after suffering a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down and the death of her husband two years later from a heart attack. Her father, a Holocaust survivor, counseled her to keep moving forward and never ask “why?” as a way to get through her struggle. During her rehabilitation, she discovered her passion for sailing through the Shake-a-Leg organization in Miami, FL. She felt a sense of freedom and joy when she was on the water. She soon began volunteering with the organization. Building on that, she went on to create the Impossible Dream, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit that offers others with disabilities the healing experience of sailing. Each summer, Deborah and the Impossible Dream catamaran travel over 4,000 miles from Miami to Maine and back, stopping in over a dozen ports to collaborate with the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals, advocacy organizations, and di

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Deborah Mellen. In 1989 Deborah’s life changed in an instant when she was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident in Italy. Then, two years later her husband died from a heart attack. It was after her injury when she moved to Miami for her rehabilitation that she fell in love with sailing through the organization, Shake-A-Leg, a nonprofit adaptive watersports center located in Miami, FL. She shares her story and discusses how she found the courage and strength to move forward through a dark period, to heal and discover an entirely new life helping others. It was after finding her community and passion through sailing that Deborah purchased the Impossible Dream - the only catamaran designed from the keel up to be universally accessible. It was out of her vision the Impossible Dream Inc., a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit was born.  Every summer, Deborah and the Impossible Dream travel over 4,000 miles from Miami to Maine and back, stopping in over a dozen ports to c

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks about his newly released book, Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? He shares his motivation for writing the book, and how readers can use the tools it provides to make a more informed decision about whether or not to have spine surgery. He also examines the factors that are pressuring surgeons to perform surgeries that offer little hope of relieving a patient's back pain, and can often lead to poor outcomes. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Norris Lewis, a trainer and physical conditioning specialist, about his work with individuals who suffer from chronic pain or injury. With a background in exercise physiology and the Z-Health methodology, he has developed an approach centered on understanding why the client is holding onto their pain and working with them to focus their brain on something other than the pain. He explains that the emotional component of pain is one of the key factors in healing. For example, he has found that laughter is one way to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and accelerate the healing process. He believes that surgery should be the last approach to be considered. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com Norris Lewis is an elite trainer at Fitness SF – Oakland. He specializes in pre- and post-surgery rehab and practices the Z-Health methodology which uses cutting-edge applied pain and performance neurology for health and fitness. He has a BS in physio

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done, about the specific techniques you can use to: identify what’s on your mind and capture it; determine what each item means and whether it is actionable; organize and track each of your items; review and reflect on each of your items; and use all of these steps to stay engaged and make good choices about what you are doing. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com One of the world’s most influential thinkers on productivity, David Allen’s 35 years experience as a management consultant and executive coach have earned him the titles of “personal productivity guru” by Fast Company Magazine and one of America’s top 5 executive coaches by Forbes Magazine. His bestselling book, the groundbreaking Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, has been published in thirty languages; and the “GTD” methodology it describes has become a global phenomenon. David, his company, and his partners are

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done, about how his approach can help you put steps into action once you've learned about chronic pain and are ready to take control of your life again. He explains the value of starting where you are and not where you should be, and using a step-by-step approach to get the day-to-day things under control first. He discusses how to organize your thinking, and build up an “external brain” - e.g., a computer app or a piece of paper - to capture what you need to do and stay engaged to get it done. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com One of the world’s most influential thinkers on productivity, David Allen’s 35 years experience as a management consultant and executive coach have earned him the titles of “personal productivity guru” by Fast Company Magazine and one of America’s top 5 executive coaches by Forbes Magazine. His bestselling book, the groundbreaking Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Donald Cohen, a clinical psychologist specializing in family issues, about how family relationships can impact the experience of chronic pain.  He discusses how stress and anger can become “somaticized” and exacerbate chronic pain. The resulting tension can lead other family members to feel unsafe, causing them to shut down and become angry or defensive. He shares the necessity of treating the whole family when it comes to chronic pain and the importance of the patient’s attitude in improving or worsening the associated family issues. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com Download the transccript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Donald Cohen, a clinical psychologist specializing in family issues, about the impact of aging and anxiety on the experience of pain. He has observed that the basic “mechanics of life” can cause more anxiety as we age, leading to altered sleep patterns which can intensify our experience of pain. He recommends meditation, reflection, engaging in creative activities, exercise, napping and expressing feelings as ways to counter the effects of aging and anxiety. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com Download a transcript of this podast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with David Burns, MD, best-selling author of Feeling Good and Feeling Good Together, about how misunderstandings between couples can exacerbate the experience of chronic pain.  Dr. Burns shares examples that illustrate how hidden feelings in a relationship can result in pain that is used as a weapon against the other person. He describes tools that couples can use to better understand each other’s feelings and heal the relationship as well as the pain. For more information, visit: https://www.feelinggood.com Download a transcript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Sharna Prasad, DPT, about her approach to treating chronic pain patients. She tries to understand from the patient what is going on in their life and how it is impacting their pain. She explains how she has adopted more of a coaching style in working with her patients, which has resulted in most patients getting much better. She discusses her work on an in-depth program for chronic pain patients called Movement, Mindfulness and Pain Science, as well as her work with local high schools to help students better understand aspects of pain science, healthy self-care and opioid abuse.  For more information, visit: https://www.backincontrol.com Download a transcript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with his step-daughter, Jasmine Yohai, about her work as a housing coordinator for Bay Area Community Services helping homeless individuals find housing in Oakland. She points out that homelessness is a growing problem in many communities, but particularly in the technology hubs around the Bay Area. She shares the difficulties homeless individuals and families face, and how their situation complicates their efforts to heal from chronic conditions.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with David Burns, MD, best-selling author of Feeling Good and Feeling Good Together, about the evolution of his practice from biological psychiatry to using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a tool for helping patients with depression and anxiety. He discusses the powerful effect that negative thoughts have on how we feel and behave. Becoming aware of and changing those negative thinking patterns and getting to self-acceptance, often has immediate positive impacts, including on chronic pain. For more information, visit: https://www.feelinggood.com Download a transcript of this podcast. David D. Burns is a psychiatrist and adjunct professor emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the author of the bestselling books Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, The Feeling Good Handbook and Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety. He popularized cognitive behavioral t

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Sharna Prasad, DPT, about her 32 year career as a chronic pain specialist. She shares the story of her own battle with chronic pain and the insights it provided her in the evolution of her practice. She also discusses her role as a founding member of the Oregon Pain Science Alliance and its work helping patients heal from chronic pain. For more information, visit: https://www.backincontrol.com Download a transcript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with his step-daughter, Jasmine Yohai, about her journey from dance to being an expressive arts therapist,and working as a housing coordinator for Bay Area Community Services helping homeless individuals find housing in Oakland. She discusses the different sensory modalities of expressive arts therapy which include movement, drawing and speaking, and talks about how these were incorporated into the Omega workshops.  For more information, visit: https://www.backincontrol.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, spine surgeon Dr. David Hanscom discusses the neurochemical basis of anxiety and how it impacts our experience of chronic pain. He outlines the manner in which our reactions to chronic pain become embedded in our neural circuitry and are reinforced by these stress chemicals. He explains why the typical strategies people use to escape from anxious thoughts - e.g., suppression - won't work. He explores different methods he has used with patients to help them create awareness of how anxiety affects chronic pain, change their reactions to chronic pain, and begin to heal and re-engage with life again. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com/anxiety-is-a-symptom-not-a-diagnosis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features Dr. David Hanscom’s interview with Dean Volk, PT, MPT.  He shares an approach to working with his physical therapy patients called Total Motion Release. The approach is based on the idea that whenever a part of the body is experiencing pain or discomfort, the entire body is thrown out of balance as it tries to compensate to protect the injured area.  This prevents the body from moving normally and healing.  His technique, which has achieved excellent results, relies on rebalancing the patient’s total body in order to help his or her brain rewire to allow the affected area to regain normal movement.  Dean Volk has been transforming his patients’ lives since 1992. He currently owns 3 physical therapy practices, two in Charlotte and a mobile concierge service in Charleston, SC. Most recently, he started an online business, Sciatica Relief Now, LLS, which focuses on those suffering with Sciatica for 6+ months and sciatica is making their lives miserable. (http://www.SciaticaReliefNow.net) 

This episode features the second of Dr. David Hanscom’s two interviews with Deb Gray PhD, a licensed clinical social worker and owner of a group of substance abuse / mental health clinics, Life by Design.  She discusses how she applied the DOC principles to develop her own personal approach to treating chronic pain. In addition to the recommendations in Back in Control, she also used Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, which she now uses with her clients.  Visit: https://backincontrol.com  for more information. Download a transcript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features the first of Dr. David Hanscom’s two interviews with Deb Gray PhD, a licensed clinical social worker and owner of a group of substance abuse / mental health clinics, Life by Design.  She also attended one of the first of Dr. Hanscom’s annual Omega conferences. She shares her personal story of battling chronic pain, the different approaches she tried and her discovery of the mechanisms that can trigger and exacerbate chronic pain. This understanding led her to a pain-free life.  Visit: https://backincontrol.com  for more information. Download a transcript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features Dr. David Hanscom’s interview with Kent Bassett and Marion Cunningham, directors of the new film “This Might Hurt” which focuses on the mind-body approach to treating chronic pain.  The film, which is being crowdfunded on Indiegogo, was inspired by Kent’s own battle with chronic pain and the solution he has found in the work of Drs. Sarno, Schubiner, Hanscom and others. During the interview, Kent talks about the steps he took to become pain-free. The film follows Dr. Schubiner’s work with several long term chronic pain patients.  He and Marion discuss the making of the film and share the impact the patient stories featured in the film had on them. Visit their Indiegogo project at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/this-might-hurt-film--2/reft/216797/hanscomradio  for more information. Director Kent Bassett is an Emmy-nominated editor and filmmaker. He recently cut Standing Up, about three unlikely aspiring comedians, and Personal Statement, about youth leaders fighting to expand colle

This episode features part 2 of Dr. David Hanscom’s interview with Dr. Marc Moisi, Chief of Neurosurgery at Detroit Receiving Hospital. Dr. Moisi recalls his training as a resident and later as a spine surgery fellow. He advocates for a more humanistic, mentoring approach to this training. He describes the toll that the “mantra of criticism” and its resulting stress can take on surgical performance and patient outcomes. As evidence for the need for change, he cites the growing problem of burnout and suicide among physicians.  Visit: https://backincontrol.com  for more information. Download a transcript of this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices