This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, I'm sitting down with Dr. Rachel Zoffness — pain scientist, pain psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF, lecturer at Stanford, and author of Tell Me Where It Hurts. We are getting into the practical side of chronic pain management. Because understanding the science is one thing… but actually having tools you can use today, regardless of your budget or access to care, is another.
We're diving into:
🏃 Movement as medicine — where to start when you can barely move, and why even stretching or pedaling your legs while lying down changes your brain chemistry
🧘 Biofeedback — what it is, how it works, and why the American Migraine Foundation says it can be as effective as popular pharmaceutical drugs for migraines
🧠 How your prefrontal cortex magnifies pain — and why distraction and joy are not just "nice to haves" but actual clinical tools
👻 Phantom limb pain — 80% of amputees experience pain in limbs that no longer exist, and what that tells us about where pain actually lives
🔥 Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) — what it is, how it hijacks your physiology, and why the cycle of avoiding movement makes it worse
📚 Accessible resources — Dr. Z's workbooks and protocols for people who cannot access or afford private clinical care
xx, Alex
💬 Comment: What activity or moment has ever given YOU unexpected relief from your chronic pain?
TIMESTAMPS:
Intro:
00:00:00 Welcome back to Calling in Sick!
00:00:04 Guest Intro: Dr. Rachel Zoffnes, pain scientist and clinical psychologist
Improving Accessibility in Pain Management:
00:01:48 Dr. Zoffnes’ workbooks and pro bono work for free access to treatments
00:02:35 Movement as Medicine: Starting where the body and brain are ready & the biological benefits
00:03:52 "Fuzz Therapy": The data-backed impact of pets on pain
Biofeedback and the Mind-Body Connection:
00:04:41 Introduction to Biofeedback: Using sensors to read biological processes
00:07:02 The science of stress: How fight-or-flight affects skin temperature & what to do about it
00:09:16 Biofeedback effectiveness for migraines compared to pharmaceuticals
Understanding Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS):
00:10:12 Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): Physiological hijacking and symptoms
00:13:52 The cycle of protection: How lack of movement amplifies pain
00:15:20 The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) as a magnifier of physical sensations… and how using distractions can lower the “pain volume”
Conclusion:
00:18:14 Thank you for listening!
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Connect with our guest, Dr. Rachel Zoffness, PhD:
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/therealdoczoff/?hl=en
• Resources - https://www.zoffness.com/resources
• Website - https://www.zoffness.com/
Buy her book here: https://amzn.to/4aDThGb
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Produced by: Alexandra Wildeson — https://www.instagram.com/alexandrawildeson/
#ChronicPain #PainScience #BiopsychosocialModel #PainPsychology #ChronicIllness #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #DrRachelZoffness #TellMeWhereItHurts #PainManagement #NeuroplasticPain #CentralSensitization #TraumaAndPain #ChronicPainAwareness #PainRecipe #PainDial #PainReprocessing #MentalHealth #CallingInSickPodcast #AlexWildeson
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