Ep.272 'Understanding Pain in 2026 - Pt1/4' with Dr. Bronnie L. Thompson & Ben Whybrow

A new month arrives for the STA Clinician Podcast, and with it new focus topic: ‘Understanding Pain in 2026’. In this first part of four episodes, host Matt Phillips of runchatlive.com is joined by Dr. Bronnie Lennox Thompson (Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, Academic Coordinator, Postgraduate Programmes in Pain & Pain Management at University of Otago, New Zealand, Mentor & Content Expert for Modern Pain Care) and Ben Whybrow (Pain Specialist Physiotherapist in the NHS, Communication Skills Facilitator for Cambridge Medical School, host of “Clinical Communication Podcast," Community Manager & Content Expert for Modern Pain Care). With so much changing & evolving information out there regarding pain, how to explain it, when to treat it, HOW to treat it, it can often be tricky for healthcare professionals to stay up-to-date, but we must as we have an ethical, moral, and professional obligation to stay current with modern understandings of pain, in order to provide competent, compassionate, evidence‑based care. But fear not, for that's what this month is all about. Dr. Bronnie L. Thompson & Ben Whybrow review recent shifts in pain science, discuss the limits of over-explaining neurobiology, and why context matters more than lecture-style patient education. The conversation focuses on practical approaches: ask patients their main concerns, prioritize collaborative problem-solving and graded doing over long explanations. Chapter Markers 00:00:00 - Welcome to the STA Clinician Podcast 00:04:04 - Introducing Dr. Bronnie L. Thompson & Ben Whybrow 00:07:12 - The Role of Communication in Pain Management 00:15:16 - Shifts in Pain Understanding 00:20:52 - The Importance of Hope 00:24:07 - Rethinking Pain Treatment Approaches 00:31:54 - The Power of Doing 00:35:38 - Engaging with Patients’ Concerns 00:42:06 - Addressing Patients’ Main Concerns 00:45:51 - Confidence in Moving Again 00:53:28 - Practical Tips for Clinicians 00:59:37 - Conclusion and Future Discussions Useful links Dr. Bronnie L. Thompson - Blog  Dr. Bronnie L. Thompson on Facebook Dr. Bronnie L. Thompson on Instagram Ben Whybrow on Instagram Clinical Communication Podcast on Spotify  Modern Pain Care Website Guests in Future Episodes  Part 2 - Wed Feb 11th with special guests Professor Dave Newell, Head of The Centre for Pain & Active Inference Research at Health Sciences University, and Anna Maria Mazzieri, Director of The ST School & current PhD student at Health Sciences University Part 3 Tues Feb 17th with special guest Dr. Rachel Dewar-Haggart, Postdoctoral Qualitative Researcher within the Medical Sociology & Health Experiences Research Group at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. Part 4 Wed Feb 25th with special guest Dr. Rachel Zoffness, Pain scientist, International Speaker, Science Writer, with her new book “Tell Me Where It Hurts” coming out March 26th  Want to join the live recordings? Episodes of the STA Clinician Podcast are recorded live every TUESDAY at 8pm on the Sports Therapy Association YOUTUBE CHANNEL and FACEBOOK page. Everyone is welcome - you do not have to be an STA member! If you cannot join us live, be sure to subscribe to the 'Sports Therapy Association Podcast' on all popular podcast apps to be notified when new episodes are available. Interested in joining the STA? Use the code PODCAST25 to get 3 MONTHS EXTRA when you join for a single year! In other words, £75 will get you 15 months instead of 12!  Only valid for NEW members. If you are Level 3 (qualified after 2014) make sure you choose the ‘associate member’ option.