My Pain Coach, LLC

03/26/2026

Too often, pain treatment focuses only on the body through medications, injections, surgeries while ignoring the emotional factors that influence pain perception.

But pain is more than a physical sensation.

Treating only the physical is like dressing a wound with a bandaid while leaving the infection.

You can address the physical symptoms of pain, but if the nervous system remains overwhelmed and protective, the pain experience may not change very much. That is because the deeper drivers of distress are still active beneath the surface.

🔹 Pain isn’t just in the tissues. It’s processed by the brain. Emotional distress, fear, and frustration amplify pain, keeping the nervous system sensitized and on high alert.

🔹 Validation reduces pain. When clients feel dismissed by providers, they brace, tense, and worry about the future and the worsening the pain cycle. Recognizing their distress creates a sense of safety, helping to calm the nervous system.

🔹 Neuroplasticity is the key. The brain can recalibrate, but only when both the physical and emotional components of pain are addressed together (biopsychosocial model).

Ignoring the emotional side of pain means overlooking half the problem.

A wound might be bandaged, but if the infection underneath is never treated, symptoms persist, and healing is delayed.

Pain works the same way: if we don’t address the emotional and neurological factors along with the physical factors, we keep the nervous system in distress and changing the pain experience remains out of reach.

If this perspective resonates, it may be time to look beyond the body tissues alone.

www.mypaincoachllc.com

03/20/2026

If you’ve been told “everything looks fine” but you’re still in pain what has that experience been like for you? Let me know in the comments.

If you’ve heard things like:

“Your scans are normal.”
“We can’t find a cause for your ongoing pain.”

You already know how disorienting that can feel.

You’re still dealing with pain every day…
but the tests don’t explain it.

And over time, that gap starts to wear on you.

Not just physically, but mentally.
Because now you’re left trying to make sense of something that doesn’t line up.

Here’s what often goes unspoken in that experience:
👉🏻 You start questioning yourself.
👉🏻 You wonder if you’re missing something.
👉🏻 You replay appointments, trying to figure out what to say differently next time.
👉🏻 You may stop bringing it up altogether because it feels like nothing changes.
👉🏻 And at the same time, the pain is still there affecting how you move, what you plan, how much energy you have, and how predictable your day feels.

Most medical care is designed to look for clear, identifiable causes.
When tests don’t show a clear explanation, there isn’t always a next step offered that helps people understand why the pain experience continues.

So people are left in between with no clear explanation for the pain, but not feeling okay either.

Over time, this can lead to:
👉🏻 cycling through different providers or treatments
👉🏻 trying to “push through” symptoms without understanding them
👉🏻 becoming more focused on the body, scanning for what might happen next
👉🏻 feeling stuck without a clear direction forward

💡 What can actually help
✅ Not another quick fix.
✅ But a different framework.
✅ Understanding how the nervous system processes pain.
✅ Looking at patterns like fear, pressure, overactivity, or constant symptom monitoring.
✅ Learning how to gradually reduce the brain’s need to stay in protection mode.

This is not immediate.
And it’s not about ignoring symptoms.
It’s about changing how the system responds over time.

What pain care providers can do:
🎯 Acknowledge that normal tests don’t mean the person is “fine.”
🎯 Explain pain in a way that includes the role of the nervous system.
🎯 Give patients a clearer understanding of why pain can persist without clear findings.
🎯 Offer guidance beyond test results alone.

If you are a patient, let me know in the comments your experience with medically unexplained pain.

Learn more at www.MyPainCoachLLC.com

03/03/2026

Part 2 of my recent conversation on the Dr. David Hanscom's Back in Control podcast is now available.

Dr. David Hanscom is an orthopedic spine surgeon, author, and educator known for his work in applying neuroscience principles to persistent pain.

After decades in his spine surgical practice, he shifted his focus toward teaching patients how the brain and nervous system influence the pain experience.

We discuss:

• The role of emotions in changing the pain experience and why learning to "feel to heal" rather than suppress emotions is foundational
• How personal agency and lifestyle patterns influence nervous system regulation
• Why self-leadership is essential when shifting long-standing pain patterns
• My coaching approaches
• The structure of my hybrid pain coaching program, which teaches pain, brain, and neuroscience with personalized integration
• How clients learn to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in ways that support nervous system safety
• The role of coaching sessions in helping clients integrate education into daily activities

If you or someone you care about feels stuck in an ongoing pain pattern, this conversation will expand how you think about what’s possible.

Listen to Part 2 here:

SPOTIFY:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/32bqPvP9PkIjsgzNwVWY96?si=UIebBpnASTe9wlklJOc2pg

APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-in-control-with-david-hanscom-md/id1451626927?i=1000748415782

HOST WEBSITE: https://backincontrol.com/media2/podcast/?v=0b3b97fa6688

Discover how to conquer debilitating chronic pain by using a groundbreaking, self-directed approach pioneered by Dr. David Hanscom. His methods have been used by hundreds of patients to eliminate chronic pain and regain control of their lives.Listen to his weekly podcasts on the Back in Control podc...

03/03/2026

Part 1 of my recent conversation on the Dr. David Hanscom's Back in Control podcast is now available.

Dr. David Hanscom is an orthopedic spine surgeon, author, and educator known for his work in applying neuroscience principles to persistent pain.

After decades in his spine surgical practice, he shifted his focus toward teaching patients how the brain and nervous system influence the pain experience.

In Part 1, we discuss:

• Growing up with pain conditions and encountering the limitations of traditional medical systems
• How independent research led me to understand the brain and nervous system’s role in persistent pain patterns
• My involvement in legislative advocacy and how it shaped my perspective on patient agency and provider care
• Why behavior change and nervous system education are foundational in changing the pain experience
• The path that led me to become a board-certified health and wellness

SPOTIFY:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3tzRAHUjIE8VxPKhKpi4gT?si=VuGa9poOR5eIlulB7FXV8Q
�APPLE:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-in-control-with-david-hanscom-md/id1451626927?i=1000748415192

HOST WEBSITE: https://backincontrol.com/media2/podcast/?v=0b3b97fa6688

I would like to thank Dr. David Hanscom for a very engaging interview. I am honored to be a guest on his Back In Control podcast.

Discover how to conquer debilitating chronic pain by using a groundbreaking, self-directed approach pioneered by Dr. David Hanscom. His methods have been used by hundreds of patients to eliminate chronic pain and regain control of their lives.Listen to his weekly podcasts on the Back in Control podc...

01/09/2026

The Setup. The Buildup. The Payoff.

A really good movie gives you:
🎬 The setup
🎢 The buildup
🎯 The payoff

A good movement experience should, too.

But too often in pain care, it goes like this:
➡️ Setup - Provider: "Try this exercise."
➡️ Buildup - Self: You do it, maybe with fear, maybe with hope.
🚫 Payoff - No One: …There’s no space to process what happened with exercise.

Without integration, that “payoff” never arrives.
🔴 You’re left with incomplete loops.
🔴 Unspoken questions.
🔴 Unlabeled sensations.
🔴 And a nervous system that’s unsure whether to store this as safety or threat.

What if movement ended with reflection instead of redirection?

❌ We don’t need more drills.
✅ We need more digestion.

The nervous system is always learning.
Let’s help it learn something safe.

Learn more about Exercise that Helps, Not Hurts™ and take the anonymous exercise and pain survey:

https://forms.gle/JYBKKRiQuganSAfp6

01/08/2026

A word that came up from the anonymous exercise and pain survey is kinesiophobia.

I want to pause on that.

Not because fear of movement isn’t real, but because the label itself matters, especially within pain care.

In much of the medical literature, kinesiophobia is defined using words like “excessive” and “irrational.”

That framing is often accepted as fact.
And that’s where the problem begins.

For many people living with persistent pain, fear of movement is not "excessive" or "irrational" at all:
👉🏻 It’s learned.
👉🏻 It’s protective.
👉🏻 It’s based on the lived experience of flare-ups, injuries, dismissive provider encounters, and being told to push through when their body wasn’t safe to do so.

When a person’s fear is automatically labeled as "excessive" and "irrational," their experience is quietly invalidated.

🔴 They remain unheard.
🔴 And when someone feels unheard, they cannot build trust.
🔴 They cannot feel safe during provider encounters.
🔴 And meaningful lifestyle behavior change becomes much harder, if not impossible.

Language shapes the environment people are asked to change in.

If the environment implies “your fear is the problem,” rather than “your nervous system adapted for a reason,” we miss the opportunity to actually help.

This isn’t about rejecting science.
It is about updating it to include lived experience, context, and compassion.

💡 Because no one changes, physically or emotionally, inside a framework that assumes they’re "irrational" and "overreacting."

And that’s a conversation worth having.

Take the Anonymous Survey about Exercise and Living with Chronic Pain at
https://forms.gle/JYBKKRiQuganSAfp6

Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC
Board Certified Health Coach
www.MyPainCoachLLC.com

Janet Huehls, MS, ACSM-CEP, NBC-HWC
Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Board Certified Health Coach
www.ExercisingWell.com

01/06/2026

Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC and I are creating something that helps not hurts for people in pain wanting to exercise.

Every day I hear from people in pain misinformation about exercise - either that they have to push through or exercise is not safe for them and they need to avoid it.

There is another way and we have seen it work. First however, we want to hear from people experiencing pain about their exercise experiences.

Please complete this survey and share it with others and stay tuned for an evidence based, real world solution to the struggle with exercising for people in pain.

https://forms.gle/ASseaCoWjNehzfYi6



Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC

Board Certified Health Coach specializing in Chronic Pain

www.MyPainCoachLLC.com

Janet Huehls, MS, ACSM-CEP, NBC-HWC

Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Board Certified Health Coach

www.ExercisingWell.com

01/05/2026

Why Most New Year Resolutions Fail?

Some research suggests that within 1–2 weeks, the vast majority of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions.

One study found the dropout rate to be as high as 90%.

Why?
Because most resolutions demand big change… and perfection.

That simply doesn't align with how human behavior and habit formation actually works.

Instead of feeling successful, many resolution-makers experience:
🛑 Early friction between intention and action
🛑 Self-doubt about whether their goal is realistic
🛑 Disappointment or discouragement after a slip

Only a small percentage will step back, adjust expectations, and rethink their approach, and those few are the ones most likely to succeed.

So what sets them apart?

The ones who stay with it tend to have:
✅ Supportive structures
✅ Flexible strategies
✅ Self-compassion, not self-criticism

This is exactly where the work of a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) comes in.

We help people:
💡Clarify what really matters (not just what sounds impressive in January)
💡Set realistic micro-steps instead of extreme goals
💡Track progress without judgment
💡Build long-term behavior change through accountability, reflection, and mindset support

Because lasting change doesn’t come from pressure.
It comes from partnership and collaboration.

If you’re in that post-resolution dip right now, maybe you haven’t failed.
Maybe you just need a different kind of support.

👉 If you’re looking for a new way forward in 2026, one rooted in neuroscience, self-trust, and practical support, I’d love to connect.

Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC
Board Certified Health Coach

www.MyPainCoachLLC.com

01/03/2026

What do you want to know about changing the pain experience?

I am a board-certified health coach who helps people change their pain experience.

My professional work blends professional education and pain neuroscience training with nearly five decades of lived experience with chronic pain and illness.

Having overcome conditions like migraine, fibromyalgia, vertigo, back pain, and other many other debilitating pain challenges, I now guide others through the complex, often confusing process of changing the pain experience.

If you have a question about pain, behavior change, or nervous system patterns, ask away.

Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC
Board Certified Health Coach

01/02/2026

A word that came up in discussions from the Exercise & Pain Survey responses is kinesiophobia.

I want to pause on that.

Not because fear of movement isn’t real, but because the label itself matters, especially within the pain care.

In much of the medical literature, kinesiophobia is defined using words like “excessive” and “irrational.”

That framing is often accepted as fact.
And that’s where the problem begins.

For many people living with persistent pain, fear of movement is not "excessive" or "irrational" at all:

🎯 It’s learned.
🎯 It’s protective.
🎯 It’s based on the lived experience of flare-ups, injuries, dismissive provider encounters, and being told to push through when their body wasn’t safe to do so.

When a person’s fear is automatically labeled as "irrational," their experience is quietly invalidated. Their concerns remain unheard.

And when someone feels unheard, they cannot build trust.
They cannot feel safe.
And meaningful lifestyle behavior change becomes much harder, if not impossible.

Language shapes the environment people are asked to change in.

If the environment implies “your fear is the problem,” rather than “your nervous system adapted for a reason,” we miss the opportunity to actually help.

This isn’t about rejecting science. It’s about updating it to include lived experience, context, and compassion.

💡 Because no one changes, physically or emotionally, inside a framework that assumes they’re irrational and overreacting.

And that’s a conversation worth having.

Take the Anonymous Survey about Exercise and Living with Chronic Pain at
https://lnkd.in/eTh4bfSh

Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC
Board Certified Health Coach
www.MyPainCoachLLC.com

Janet Huehls, MS, ACSM-CEP, NBC-HWC
Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Board Certified Health Coach
www.ExercisingWell.com

01/01/2026

I cannot tell you how many times a week I hear some version of this statement. Have you heard this? Do you believe it?

It is also being revealed in the insights from the pain and exercise survey Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC, and I are using to collect information to guide our next steps.

We want to create something that heals, not hurts. We want people experiencing pain to know it's not a sign of progress when exercising, despite all the messages (verbal and subliminal) that say pain is needed for gain.

Join us on the first step toward something better by taking our anonymous survey and sharing it with others. Stay tuned for more about the solution to this unnecessary struggle with exercising.

Thank you!

https://forms.gle/ASseaCoWjNehzfYi6



Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC

Board Certified Health Coach specializing in Chronic Pain

www.MyPainCoachLLC.com

Janet Huehls, MS, ACSM-CEP, NBC-HWC

Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Board Certified Health Coach

www.ExercisingWell.com