Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1519088
TL: I sent her the link to the TEDx Talk ("Why Things Hurt") you gave about 12 years ago, which at this point has over 1.3 million views. Honestly, I think it helped catalyze profound changes in how pain is conceptualized in our field of hands-on therapy; it was a part of many of the discussions about pain and how we might or might not help. She came back after watching that and said, "OK, I have a question for him." She asked, "Have you been able to describe pain to those experiencing chronic pain in a way that helps them? And, if so, how would you word it simply so practitioners might be able to help their clients and patients?" LM: What an outstanding start, right? It would've been the same question if she had said, "What have you been doing for the last 20 years?" Well, I guess my first response to that is: Education is a pretty broad thing. I think there would be some pretty compelling arguments that even without speaking, without any conversation, bodyworkers are educating by virtue of the fact they're delivering stimuli within certain conjured contexts and frames of working. So, they're changing the way the person in front of them stores data and uses that data for future decision-making. I would say, if there's a conversation happening anywhere during the interaction, before the interaction, or after the interaction, it's an opportunity for education. So, in answer to your question, I think I would divide what we've learned over the last six or seven years primarily into what we've learned about content and what we've learned about delivery. 30 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k m ay/ j u n e 2 0 24 THE SOMATIC EDGE By Til Luchau Professor G. Lorimer Moseley is one of the world's leading researchers in pain science, and his book Explain Pain (co-authored with David Butler) has influenced how massage therapists are being educated about pain in programs around the world. Whitney Lowe and I spoke with him recently about how hands-on bodyworkers might best understand and utilize his findings. This excerpt from our longer conversation (which you can listen to as Episode 111 of The Thinking Practitioner podcast) has been edited for clarity. Til Luchau: Lorimer Moseley, I'm going to do my best to introduce you, although in my mind, you clearly need no introduction. You are a Bradley Distinguished Professor at the University of South Australia and, in 2020, were made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "Distinguished service to medical research and science communication, to education, to the study of pain and its management, and to physiotherapy, to humanity at large." I think that's rather well said because you have made an enormous contribution to our field and others. Lorimer Moseley: Thank you, Til. TL: I actually met a person who hadn't heard of you in a social media post where I asked, "I'm talking to Lorimer Moseley; what do you want me to ask?" Someone messaged back, "Hey, I haven't heard of him. That's interesting. Who is he?" I was like, "What? You don't know Lorimer Moseley?" LM: Most people I meet have never heard of me, so that's not surprising. 4 Essential Pain Facts A Conversation with Lorimer Moseley TECHNIQUE KEY POINT • We can help clients understand that pain indicates protection rather than damage. Professor G. Lorimer Moseley, AO, DSc, PhD