Persistent pain does not just affect your body – It may have had an impact on many areas of your life including your relationships, work, the activities and roles you used to enjoy and sleep. It is also likely you’ll have experienced a wide range of challenging emotions such as frustration, sadness, anger, anxiety, fear and grief. It can feel isolating and invisible.
What is Persistent Pain?
Pain is a messenger – it is your body doing its best to keep you safe and is a complex experience influenced by many factors.
Pain that has lasted more than the 3 – 6 months it normally takes the body to heal after an injury becomes known as persistent or chronic pain. Some forms of persistent pain can be linked to inflammation, such as in rheumatoid arthritis or nerve injury such as in diabetic related peripheral neuropathy. This is known as Chronic Secondary Pain.
Very often, however, pain is not due to underlying injury or structural changes. This is known as Chronic Primary Pain and is due to learned and sensitised neural circuits and pathways in the nervous system and brain. The nervous system can become an expert in producing pain. It is like an overprotective or oversensitive smoke alarm going off. This does not mean that this is imagined and you’re not alone. It is also not your fault that it is happening.
The hopeful message? If the body can learn pain and related symptoms, it can also unlearn them and, with the right approach, in many cases recovery is possible.
My Approach: Retraining the System
When pain persists, the goal shifts from a “find it and fix it” approach.
My treatment plans are evidence-informed, holistic and individualised, typically involving:
- Pain Education: Understanding the science behind why your body is producing pain is an important part of reducing the threat
- Movement: gentle movement exploration and increasing confidence in how to gradually increase activity levels without flaring up symptoms
- Nervous system regulation: breathwork, mindfulness, relaxation and grounding practices and / or hands on techniques to help the body learn how to shift from ‘fight, flight and freeze’ (sympathetic nervous system) to ‘rest and digest’ (parasympathetic nervous system) as well as increasing body awareness and the ability to sit with whatever arises, including uncomfortable emotions, promoting a sense of safety in the body.
- Lifestyle Integration: practical strategies for home and work to help you stay active in the longer term. Empowering you to know your pain triggers when they arise and feel confident you can cope in a flare up, enabling you to return to the activities you enjoy and to lead a fulfilling and joyful life.
You may have seen many different healthcare professionals and alternative practitioners and been given many different diagnoses.
With my extensive background working as part of a multidisciplinary team in NHS and private Pain Clinics and in Physiotherapy outpatient settings, I am well equipped to help you make sense of your experiences and would be delighted to work with you to formulate an appropriate treatment plan.
"The goal isn't just to move more; it's to move with less fear."
Common Conditions I Treat
Living with long-term pain can feel isolating, but you don’t have to manage it alone. I work with clients experiencing:
- Lower Back Pain & Sciatica: Long-term stiffness or radiating discomfort.
- Osteoarthritis: Managing flare-ups and maintaining joint mobility.
- Fibromyalgia: Addressing widespread pain and the associated fatigue.
- Neck & Shoulder Tension: Often linked to posture or stress-related “holding” patterns.
- Post-Surgical Pain: Helping the body recalibrate after a major procedure.