In this episode of the Pain Free Living podcast, Bob Allen (osteopath) and Clare Elsby (therapy coach) unpack one of the most misunderstood parts of recovery, looking at why the journey from pain to pain-free is rarely smooth or predictable.

As an osteopath involved in pain management for over 18 years, Bob manages client expectations on their recovery from pain every week. People often expect a neat, steady climb from pain to pain-free. but instead, recovery zigzags between feeling significantly better and feeling more pain. One good day leads to doing more… then a flare-up. And suddenly you’re thinking, “I’m back to square one.”

You’re not!

You’ll find out why recovery often feels inconsistent, how overdoing your rehab can temporarily stir things up, and why that doesn’t mean anything is wrong.

Bob explains why “movement is medicine,” how tailored exercises improve blood flow and speed up tissue healing, and why generic online “5 exercises to fix back pain” videos often miss the mark.

Clare brings the psychological lens. When progress isn’t linear, your belief system kicks in. If you think recovery should be smooth, any setback feels catastrophic. That stress response can increase muscle tension and anxiety, fuelling a self-fulfilling prophecy. But don’t worry, as understanding and awareness are the first steps to supporting your recovery.

Together, Bob and Clare discuss how managing your expectations, building trust in the process, and helping you understand the benefits of what you’re doing can dramatically improve your outcomes after an injury.

1. Recovery from back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries is rarely linear, and small setbacks to recovery are normal.
2. Doing slightly more when you feel better can temporarily increase symptoms, but it will only have a minor impact on your progress.
3. Tailored exercise supports your healing through improved circulation, oxygenation, and tissue repair.
4. Catastrophising thoughts (“What if I never get better?”) can amplify your pain via stress responses.
5. Clear explanation, education, and partnership dramatically improve exercise adherence and health outcomes.

1. A short, simple explanation of what pain is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhwEw6nXnOk
2. A great article on Pain Management: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21514-pain-management

🔹 Bob’s story: https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

🔹 Clare Elsby’s profile: https://www.clareelsby.com/

🔹 Join the newsletter: https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🔹 Podcast & socials: https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

Disclaimer

This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in pain, and have new or worsening symptoms, or any concerns about your health before starting exercise or self-care routines, ALWAYS seek qualified healthcare advice.

Bob Allen, osteopath and co-host of the Pain Free Living podcast, and Clare Elsby, positive psychology coach and therapist, explore a subject most health professionals quietly notice — but rarely say out loud.

What happens when your pain becomes… comfortable?

In this episode, you’ll find out why long-term pain, whether physical or emotional, can quietly become part of your identity.

As Bob explains, pain starts as a warning signal. But when you’ve lived with back pain, joint pain, or unexplained symptoms for months or years, you often build routines around it.

Medication. Avoidance. “Safe” movements. Coping strategies. And over time, your pain stops feeling temporary; it starts feeling normal.

You’ll also hear how this shows up emotionally. Clare explores how negative self-talk, that relentless inner critic, can actually feel useful. You may believe it drives your productivity, your standards, and your motivation. But what if that “helpful” voice is also reinforcing stress, fear and vulnerability?

Don’t worry, awareness is the first step. If any of this resonates, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’ve adapted, and adaptation is clever. But staying there forever isn’t your only option.

This conversation is aimed at challenging the “devil you know” mindset and opens the door to something better: appropriate support, fresh assessment, and safe therapeutic space — whether that’s manual therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), or simply a new perspective.

1. Pain can shift from a warning signal into a lifestyle pattern.
2. Long-term back pain often has multiple contributing factors — not just one clear diagnosis.
3. Emotional pain and negative self-talk can become part of your identity.
4. Resistance to change often comes from fear and vulnerability.
5. With the right support, you can reduce pain — without losing who you are.

1. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) overview – NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/

Disclaimer - This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek qualified healthcare advice if you are in pain, have new or worsening symptoms, or have any concerns about your health before starting exercise or self-care routines.

😎 Learn more about Bob’s story https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

🤩 Find out more about Clare’s work https://www.clareelsby.com/

📰 Sign up for our Pain Free Living newsletter https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🎙️ Connect with us on socials & podcast platforms https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

In this short episode, Bob Allen, osteopath, and Clare Elsby, therapist and coach, pause to celebrate the Pain Free Living Podcast's first birthday.

What began as a small, slightly nerve-wracking project has grown into something global. Over the past year, the podcast has reached over 150 YouTube subscribers spread across the world, including listeners in Brazil, China, Laos, and Kazakhstan.

On the audio side, there have been more than 1,600 downloads, with listeners in the UK, United States, Australia, and Japan, to name just a few.

While the numbers aren't massive (yet), we looked at what those figures really represent to us and that is people like you looking for calm, jargon-free explanations about your body, particularly when pain or uncertainty feels overwhelming.

One interesting pattern we’ve noticed is how viewers and listeners engage the podcast differently.

On YouTube, the most popular episode has been Season 2, Episode 3 – Osteopathy and Therapy Coaching Demystified, while the most listened-to audio episode is Season 1, Episode 4 – Strength and Balance.

Same podcast, different formats, different preferences.

We would love to know why there is a difference, so if you are a committed audio or visual kind of person, our big question is why?

This episode is a short, heartfelt thank you to all and a commitment from us to keep the conversations clear, honest, and human.

Stay tuned as the first episode of Season 3 will be dropping next week, and we hope you like it.

HUGE THANKS to the team, you never see but make mine and Clare's podcasting lives much easier, namely Ash McKenzie (producer extraordinaire and much more) and Jennifer Herbert (VA Supreme).

If you need a producer email learngrow999@gmail.com and if you need an excellent VA, here ya go jen@jenorganisesthings.com

In this episode, Bob Allen, osteopath and movement specialist, and Clare Elsby, therapy coach, conclude their three-part series on AI in healthcare by focusing on its real-world benefits.

You’ll find out why AI works best not as a replacement for clinicians or therapists, but as assistive intelligence, where it supports good decision-making, improves access, and frees up time for us humans to provide better support.

From Bob’s osteopathic perspective, AI is particularly useful for triage and structured case history taking. These repetitive but essential questions can be handled efficiently by AI, allowing clinicians to focus on hands-on assessment, clinical reasoning, and nuance.

Bob also explains how AI can support movement analysis, exercise tracking, progression, and even gamification to help people stay engaged with their rehab long after their pain has settled.

AI also shows promise in medical diagnostics, where pattern recognition matters. In areas such as imaging and pathology, AI systems are already being used to help detect subtle changes linked to cancers and other serious conditions, sometimes spotting patterns earlier than the human eye or ear. Used correctly, this kind of support can improve early detection while still relying on clinicians to interpret results and make final decisions.

Clare applies her therapy and coaching lens, highlighting that empathy, emotional safety, and trauma-aware care remain human skills. Where AI shines is between sessions, supporting journaling, mood tracking, and identifying patterns and triggers.

Don’t worry if this feels unfamiliar; awareness is the first step, and these tools can help people notice what they might otherwise miss.

AI should always involve human oversight, clear boundaries, and ethical use. When used well, it can extend care without losing what makes healthcare human.

If you found this helpful, subscribe to the Pain Free Living Podcast for practical, evidence-based conversations about pain, movement, and modern healthcare.

1. AI works best as assistive intelligence, not a replacement for people
2. Triage, admin, and documentation are strong, safe use-cases
3. AI-supported diagnostics can aid earlier detection of serious disease
4. Exercise tracking and progression improve long-term rehab adherence
5. Empathy, ethics, and human judgment remain essential

1. Finch is a self-care app and you can find out more here https://finchcare.com/
2. AI-assisted diagnostics for heart conditions https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/research/ai-healthcare

😎 Learn more about Bob’s story: https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

🤩 Find out more about Clare’s work: https://www.clareelsby.com/

📰 Sign up for our Pain Free Living newsletter: https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🎙️ Connect with us on socials & podcast platforms: https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment,...

Welcome to another episode of the Pain Free Living podcast hosted by Bob Allen, osteopath, and Clare Elsby, therapy coach.

This is part two of our series exploring the use of AI in healthcare and therapy, with this episode focusing on where caution, context, and human judgement still matter most.

You’ll find out why we both actively use AI, while remaining clear about its limitations. Clare introduces her practical 20–60–20 rule, which is all about framing a question in the right way.

Bob expands on this from a clinical perspective, explaining why AI without context can produce confident but misleading health advice. Unlike search engines, conversational tools such as ChatGPT aim to deliver a single, polished answer, but the vaguer the question, the less reliable the answer.

We also explore therapy chatbots and mental health AI. These tools can feel reassuring and accessible, but they often rely on agreement and validation rather than the gentle challenge and emotional nuance that therapy coaches like Clare use every day.

We discuss AI safety in mental health, highlighting why safeguarding and clear boundaries are essential. While platforms are improving safety features, AI is not a replacement for qualified care.

The key message? AI can be brilliant as a supportive tool not a decision-maker. Don’t worry if this feels complex; awareness is the first step to getting the most AI.

1. AI predicts answers, and if it can't find an answer, it can hallucinate i.e. make stuff up
2. The better and more detailed the prompt, the better the AI response
3. Therapy chatbots reassure but don’t challenge
4. Unlike AI, human clinicians can read nuance and movement
5. AI should support healthcare, not replace it

This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek qualified healthcare advice if you have existing pain with new or worsening symptoms, or any concerns about your health, before starting exercise or self-care routines.

🔔 Additional links

The South Park AI clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDf_TgzrAv8

TRIGGER WARNING: This link takes you to an article Clare discusses in the podcast, looking at the potential role of AI in a teenager's death by suicide https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/26/tech/openai-chatgpt-teen-suicide-lawsuit

How AI can be used to detect heart problems https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2025/august/ai-stethoscope-can-detect-three-heart-conditions-in-15-seconds

😎 Learn more about Bob’s story https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

🤩 Find out more about Clare’s work https://www.clareelsby.com/

📰 Sign up for our Pain Free Living newsletter https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🎙️ Connect with us on socials & podcast platforms https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

Welcome to the latest episode of the Pain Free Living podcast with hosts Bob Allen (osteopath) and Clare Elsby (therapy coach).

Have you ever heard of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

If you said no, then this episode is for you, and even if you said yes, this episode is still worth your time, as it is such a huge subject that you might learn something new.

AI is such a broad subject that we have covered it in a three-part mini-series where we take you on a jargon-free tour of what AI is, where it came from, and why it matters in therapy coaching, and healthcare.

You’ll find out how early AI tools began in the 1950s with Alan Turing’s big question — “Can machines think?” — and how the first therapy chatbot appeared as early as the 1960s.

Bob explains why early medical AI struggled with real humans, why “if–then–else” decision trees failed, and how today’s systems rely on large language models rather than true reasoning.

Clare explores cyberchondria, covering the rise of health anxiety driven by people looking for their symptoms online and why context is essential when using AI for anything health-related.

You’ll also learn why using AI is not the same as asking Dr Google questions as it can “hallucinate,” when it doesn't know the answer. In addition, providing AI with vague prompts can make things worse, and we show you how to ask questions that produce safer, more reliable answers.

Don’t worry — getting to grips with AI isn’t about becoming technical; it’s about understanding how it works, what it can do, and why guardrails are important.

This episode sets the foundations. In part two, you’ll hear how AI compares to real therapy, why dependency can be a concern, and where AI can genuinely support wellbeing.

1. AI is a prediction machine (think sophisticated autocorrect), it doesn’t know anything!
2. Humans are very complex, and simple algorithms miss the bigger picture.
3. Cyberchondria is increasing as people search for symptoms without context and accept AI answers.
4. Good AI use depends on good prompting and detailed questions.
5. AI can support therapy, but it cannot replace human care.

CBT explained (NHS): https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/

Region Beta Paradox — Pain Free Living Podcast episode: https://youtu.be/gDCOHiP5EQY

Safe AI use & prompt engineering (UK Gov): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-insights/ai-insights-prompt-engineering-html

Cyberchondria & AI-driven health anxiety: https://ioaglobal.org/events/artificial-intelligence-saviour-of-the-nhs-or-a-hypochondriacs-best-friend

Note: This podcast provides...

Welcome to the Pain Free Living podcast with co-host and Therapy coach Clare Elsby.

In this solo episode, she explores a challenge many people face without realising it: the fear of pain and how it can quietly shrink your world.

You’ll hear how one client, after a fall post–hip surgery, became so anxious about “what might happen” that his confidence, mobility, and mood all declined — even though every scan showed he was physically safe.

Clare explains how fear-based pain works, involving your nervous system staying on high alert, so that even normal movement can feel threatening.

You’ll discover why changing unhelpful thoughts (“I will fall”) to gentler “ladder thoughts” (“I might fall”) helps reset the brain, and how small, safe steps rebuild trust in your body. Through gradual exposure and curiosity, her client regained confidence, and the pain eased as his fear lifted.

If you’ve ever stepped back from movement, worried about flare-ups, or felt anxious after an injury, this episode offers simple, practical tools to help you move forward again.

Feel free to share this episode with a friend or family member who would benefit from hearing this advice.

• Fear of pain is common, and it can amplify symptoms even when scans show nothing is wrong.
• Your internal language (“I will fall”) can fuel anxiety; “ladder thoughts” help bridge back to confidence.
• Avoidance shrinks your world and feeds more fear; gradual exposure helps reverse the cycle.
• Small, safe steps build real evidence that your body is more capable than your anxious mind suggests.
• With the right support, confidence grows, mobility returns, and pain often reduces as fear eases.

😎 Learn more about Bob’s story: https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

🤩 Find out more about Clare’s work: https://www.clareelsby.com/

📰 Sign up for our Pain Free Living newsletter: https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🎙️ Connect with us on socials & podcast platforms: https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment, diagnosis, or treatment.

Always seek qualified healthcare advice if you have any concerns about your health before starting exercise or self-care routines.

You’re with Bob Allen, osteopath and co-host of the Pain Free Living podcast, and in this solo episode, you’ll find out why the pain you feel isn’t always coming from the place you think.

We’re talking about referred pain, which is a concept you might not have heard of, but you might have experienced.

Bob starts by explaining that referred pain is when you feel pain in one area, but the true source of the pain is somewhere completely different. You’ll hear how heart attack symptoms can show up in the arm, shoulder, neck, and jaw, all because those areas share the same nerve pathways entering the spine.

This episode isn’t about scaring you; instead, Bob breaks down why this matters in real life. If your therapist only treats the painful area, they can easily miss the true problem, and that means pain relief that might only last a few days before coming back.

You’ll hear a real clinical case involving long-standing knee pain, years of procedures, ongoing discomfort, and no real improvement… until a full assessment showed the hip on the opposite side was actually the problem. With treatment to both the knee and the hip, the pain settled within two sessions, providing a perfect example of how your body will compensate when something hurts and can quickly be resolved by treating the right areas.

Bob explains why persistent pain often includes multiple areas working harder than they should, which can result in pain in other areas. You’ll also learn why thorough case histories, movement assessments, and hands-on testing are essential because the knee, hip, ankle, and low back are far more connected than most people realise.

By the end, you’ll know exactly why “where it hurts” is rarely the whole story, and why a full-body approach leads to longer-lasting results.

5 Key Takeaways

• Referred pain means the painful area isn’t always the source of the problem.
• Nerves from different regions share spinal pathways, creating confusing pain maps.
• Long-standing pain often involves compensation patterns on the opposite side.
• A good therapist should always assess beyond where you feel the pain.
• Treating the true source leads to lasting relief, not temporary fixes.

Find out more about us and stay connected

😎 Bob’s story: https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

🤩 Who is Clare Elsby?: https://www.clareelsby.com/

📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🎙️ Socials & podcast platforms: https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

Note: This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek qualified healthcare advice if you have back pain, new or worsening symptoms, or any concerns about your health before starting exercise or self-care routines.