Conversations About Everyday Pain

Dr. Ya-Ling Liou
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

These are frank and sometimes raw discussions with regular people just like you - sharing genuine experiences with aches and pains. Each episode is a uniquely crafted tapestry of pain, life and learning. Let these conversations about everyday pain shed light on your own situation. Let them entertain you and inspire you to see something lighthearted or poignant in the face of pain. Notice the thread of human connection and see that you are far from alone. Relief and resolution often starts with connection, understanding and validation. These people's stories will not only give you insight into the wide variety of solutions to pain. You'll also hear about the pitfalls along the way that, in some cases, led to larger life insights, realizations and nuggets of unassuming wisdom.

  1. 2d ago

    You Are Not Broken

    Episode summary Dr. Ya-Ling turns eight weeks of argument about language onto her own book. Neither "fix" nor "damage" is good pain science, and she explains what she actually means by each, why they're on the cover anyway, and what it costs to meet people in the vocabulary they arrive with. The closing episode of the run. In this episode •           Why inflammation is the fire in the title, and why that's the one word Dr. Ya-Ling has no problem with •           Why there is rarely real damage in everyday pain, and what faulty adaptation produces instead •           Damage as disrupted communication between body and nervous system — always restorable •           Why there are no fixes, only repatterning and restoration of function •           The trade-off in using the words people already reach for when they're frightened •           The translation: what fire, damage and fixing each mean across the series •           A closing summary of the whole eight-week run Resources mentioned - Fix the Fire Damage (Vol. 2, The Everyday Pain Guide) - Put Out the Fire (Vol. 1, The Everyday Pain Guide) - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack  Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  2. Sep 15

    Your Pain is Not a Diagnosis

    Episode summary After two weeks on the words other people use about your body, Dr. Ya-Ling turns to the ones you supply yourself. Why "sciatica" is a street address rather than a diagnosis, why verdicts like "my back is shot" end an investigation before it starts, and how describing pain with adjectives instead of nouns gets you more accurate care, sooner. Includes a full introduction to the Five S's of Better Pain Coping. In this episode •           Verdicts and labels: two different ways a sentence forecloses an investigation •           Why sciatica is a location rather than a diagnosis, even though it sits in the ICD-10 coding lexicon •           The subtle defensiveness a patient-supplied diagnosis can produce, and how it gets in the way •           The Five S's of Better Pain Coping, named and explained: See It, Support It, Specify, Study It, Strategize •           Specify in practice — toothache or ice pick, hot or dull, throbbing or steady •           Why reaching for a label is a human thing to do, and when it's worth resisting Resources mentioned - The Five S's of Better Pain Coping™ - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack - ya-ling.com Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  3. Sep 8

    Does This Feel Safe?

    Episode summary In a trial of a thousand adults with back pain, researchers trained clinicians on which sentence to say out loud — "this is safe" rather than "this won't hurt you." Dr. Ya-Ling covers what the trial found, then turns to the practical question: what you're actually allowed to say, ask and expect the next time you're sitting in an appointment. In this episode •           The PACBACK trial in brief: supported self-management outperformed standard medical care, and adding manipulation to it added nothing •           The three psychological shifts that accounted for around 76% of the effect •           Why a chiropractor is telling you manipulation wasn't the deciding factor •           Four things you're allowed to do in an appointment, including asking for a phrase to be said differently •           Why asking what a word doesn't mean is often more useful than asking what it does •           Why finding this kind of care isn't equally easy for everyone •           A question to use in the room: "does this feel safe?" Resources mentioned - Bronfort G, Meier EN, Leininger B, et al. Spinal Manipulation and Clinician-Supported Biopsychosocial Self-Management for Acute Back Pain: The PACBACK Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, June 1, 2026. DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.1893 - The Everyday Pain Guide series - Better Pain Coping,  Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack  Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  4. Sep 1

    When a Medical Label Gets Inside Your Head

    Episode summary ""Degeneration." "Bone on bone." "Just wear and tear." Patients mention these in passing, quoting something a doctor said years ago about an X-ray they barely remember. Dr. Ya-Ling explores what happens when a medical label quietly becomes a belief about your body—and ultimately, about your future. She explains the overlooked connection between these words and the nocebo effect, why their impact can be so difficult to detect, and the one situation where a grim label can actually bring relief. In this episode •           The words patients mention in passing, and why they've stopped noticing them •           Placebo as the thing everyone accepts, and nocebo as its far less discussed counterpart •           What a word like "degeneration" actually changes, which is rarely behaviour and often the future a person imagines •           Ageing is real; whether the subjective experience has to suffer is a separate question •           Why radiologists using the phrase are not the problem •           The complication: when a grim label brings relief from years of fighting •           Questions to ask about anything you've been told about your body Resources mentioned - Dr. Ya-Ling's earlier article and video on the word "arthritis" — linked in this week's Substack - Better Pain Coping Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  5. Aug 25

    What I Couldn't See in My Own Neck for Thirty Years

    Episode summary Dr. Ya-Ling tells the story of the neck pain that started when she was seven, came back for decades, and persisted through chiropractic school and years of practice before she understood it. This episode is about why none of us can reliably assess our own bodies, why that isn't a personal failing, and what it means when something finally does get loud enough to notice. In this episode •           The morning she woke at seven or eight unable to lift her head, and the decades of recurrence that followed •           How a recurring pain becomes part of how you describe yourself •           Why a doctorate and ten years of practice still weren't enough to see it •           How the nervous system recruits other structures to keep you functioning, and why that looks like being fine from both outside and inside •           Why not detecting it isn't a personal shortcoming, and why it also isn't a reason to start worrying •           The "last straw" reframe: what it means when something finally does get your attention •           A better self-check than "does anything hurt right now?" Resources mentioned - The Everyday Pain Guide series - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack - ya-ling.com Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  6. Aug 18

    The Pain Alarm Messaging I Don't Agree With

    Episode summary Pain science often describes pain as a smoke detector that's become oversensitive. Dr. Ya-Ling explains where that idea is genuinely useful, why it doesn't apply to most of the pain she sees, and how applying it too early may help create the very chronic pain it was meant to address. Along the way, the real explanation for morning back stiffness. In this episode •           Why low back stiffness in the morning often isn't coming from the low back •           Two overlooked contributors: inflammatory triggers, and fluid stagnation during a night of stillness •           The oversensitive smoke detector analogy, stated fairly •           Where the analogy applies — true chronic pain — and why most everyday pain isn't that •           How disregarding early signals can help manufacture complex pain •           A different question to ask when something doesn't feel right Resources mentioned - Fix the Fire Damage (Vol. 2, The Everyday Pain Guide), Section II: Fix Your Body Chemistry - Fix the Fire Damage — the low back pain action plan, with photos and instructions for the leg stretches - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack - ya-ling.com Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  7. Aug 11

    Why I'd Rather See You Before It Gets Bad

    Episode summary Dr. Ya-Ling explains the self-interested reason she keeps asking people to speak up about small things — and why the dramatic relief that looks so impressive in a treatment room is almost never the outcome she's after. This episode is about the difference between rescue and lasting change, and about the two reasons people wait. In this episode •           Why arriving in crisis produces the most impressive result and the least durable one •           The part of clinical work that feels good to practitioners, and why Dr. Ya-Ling doesn't build her practice around it •           The two reasons people almost never mention small things •           What you actually gain by coming in early, beyond getting the problem sorted •           A different question to ask when you catch yourself minimising something Resources mentioned - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack - Fix the Fire Damage (Vol. 2, The Everyday Pain Guide) - ya-ling.com Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

  8. Aug 4

    The 71-Year-Old Who Knew Not to Wait

    Episode summary One of the fittest patients on Dr. Ya-Ling's schedule came in to talk about a little stiffness in her back in the mornings — a complaint most people would never have mentioned. This episode is about why she did, and about the quiet cultural rule that says a symptom has to be big enough before it's allowed to count. In this episode •           The 71-year-old patient who trains several times a week, grows her own food, has no pain to speak of, and brought in the smallest complaint of the week •           The two conclusions she could have drawn about her morning stiffness, and why she drew neither •           Why the most useful thing a patient says often comes with a hand already on the door •           What actually differs between arriving early and arriving late, and why the better outcome makes the less impressive story •           A different question to ask yourself when something small shows up Resources mentioned - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack, where this week's fuller version of the story lives - Fix the Fire Damage (Vol. 2, The Everyday Pain Guide) - ya-ling.com Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

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About

These are frank and sometimes raw discussions with regular people just like you - sharing genuine experiences with aches and pains. Each episode is a uniquely crafted tapestry of pain, life and learning. Let these conversations about everyday pain shed light on your own situation. Let them entertain you and inspire you to see something lighthearted or poignant in the face of pain. Notice the thread of human connection and see that you are far from alone. Relief and resolution often starts with connection, understanding and validation. These people's stories will not only give you insight into the wide variety of solutions to pain. You'll also hear about the pitfalls along the way that, in some cases, led to larger life insights, realizations and nuggets of unassuming wisdom.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Ya-Ling Liou
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Return to Health Press 2018-2025 | Return to Health, P.S.
  • Show Website
    Conversations About Everyday Pain