Getting Well In America on Radio Misfits

Ever get frustrated with your therapy because it's just not the same at home as at the PT clinic? Well Brian Keenoy has a few really good ideas about making your work at home easier and more effective, in harmony with in-clinic sessions. From Northern Michigan, Brian helps a huge number of people get the help they need and learn how to "Take Home" all those hard earned skills. [EP21]

Ever wonder what was really happening with Acupuncture? How it worked and how it helped? How it works on the body and your energy system? Well then listen to Phil Madden, a therapist with decades of experience in Acupuncture, as he details for us the inner workings of the energy balancing system we call acupuncture. [EP20]

Want freedom from pain? Water therapy is a huge key to that freedom. Listen to Leslie Jaubert talk about why aqua therapy is so good for you and exactly how easy it is to get going. Through your doctor, your clinic or physical therapy you can take advantage of water's natural buoyancy and compression to help you on your road to Getting Well. Enjoy [EP19]

This week John sits down with Shiatsu Acupressure Massage Therapist Gary Ruiz who helps us understand the importance of human touch in the healing arts and how this form of "barefoot medicine" can help us all understand the human condition and our own pathway to getting well. It's really quite the roadmap this week so enjoy this episode on your own journey. [EP18]

Just start with baby steps and keep it going. Caitlin Anderson from Tranquil Waves Yoga joins us and talks about the importance of physical therapy and John's favorite subject, Chair Yoga. It's all about the little things. Enjoy. [EP17]

Call it what you want but getting better can be tough work and just doesn't show you the results you want instantly. But Progress not Perfection becomes our mantra this week as we talk failure, relapse and getting back on the horse. How's that attitude been working for you John? Can you relate? Enjoy a few words of wisdom from GWIA. [EP16]

This week the podcast sits down with a well known and well regarded Chiropractor from Sonoma, Brian Wirick. Today's chiropractic sessions involve a whole lot more than simple back adjustments and Brian is in the forefront of that movement. Find out about the real mind/body connections and exactly why more people are trying to become in control of their own health, for so many reasons. Enjoy! [EP15]

Following on last week's show with Josh Cutler and his The Day Hospital book, we talk with an old friend who has spent her life coaching and helping people in need. Marianne Harms,has helped people with mental health issues through therapy and coaching for decades. Her work has been key in couples counseling, and those who hurt both mentally and physically. She specializes in helping people gain skills and tools for moving themselves forward and in the theme of the show, provides roadmaps to getting better. Enjoy. [EP14]

Without a doubt the most intense and enlightening of the "roadmaps to getting well" that we've presented, Josh Cutler gives us an inside view from The Day Hospital and what it's like to come to grips with mental health and what to do when you need help in balancing your own. Through his book, The Day Hospital, Josh gives us deeply personal reflections on mental illness, recognizing it and understanding the help he needed to get back to life. Josh is a psychotherapist and behavioral healthcare leader who ultimately finds his own path to healing and details his many paths to recovery. [EP13]

Certainly one of the most interesting of all the roadmaps to getting better that we've done on the show. Meet SaraPayan, Sara is an award-winning educator specializing in cancer related symptom management, Public Education Officer at the Apothecarium (San Francisco), writer, patient advocate and host of the podcast, Planted. She is a stage-three colon cancer survivor who was introduced to the medical marijuana program during her treatment. Cannabis is what got her through her initial illness, surgery and chemo. So when you wonder about the role of cannabis in getting well here you go. Enjoy! [EP12]

This week we had the opportunity to talk with Caitlin Anderson of Tranquil Waves Yoga and found that her practice fits in perfectly with our own goal share at the podcast: finding a true roadmap to help you get better. With a sports and Physical Therapy background, Caitlin has created the perfect environment for those moving from being a Patient back to being a Person again. Yoga begins to combine the mind, body and spirit when you have made the decision to get better. Like all really great teachers, Caitlin has an innate sense of what her pupils need as far as instruction and offers many different options for practicing yoga right down to Chair Yoga for those who are afraid to get up off the floor like your host, me. She works with many people with injuries and chronic pain and has been there herself with sports injuries. Enjoy and tune into her youtube channel and start your journey to wellness. [EP11]

Hey everyone, here’s the second half of our interview with Dr. Dan Hurley, my back surgeon from Chicago. We’ve had lots of great comments on the first half so this is the awaited second half and we hope you enjoy. Then drop back and listen to one of our older shows as they are always available here. Thanks again and enjoy. [EP10]

This week’s episode was twenty years in the making! John tracks down the head Doc on his back surgeries and takes a deep dive into life as a pain doc and how they help those of us with serious chronic pain. You’ll want him on your side when you are dealing with all that we pain warrior’s deal with daily. He is very impassioned about his role in helping us move from patient to person. You’ll learn the backstory behind the biblical parable of “Pick up your own mat and Walk” and why it applies to me and you everyday. Enjoy! [EP9]

If there is even one reason we chronic pain warriors can ever even get one rx of opioids these days it’s because of Red. He has been fighting a relentless battle to help people arm themselves with data to support pain driven access to proper and needed medicines especially opioids. Red has very strong opinions that may come through as overly forceful but the goal s to help you during this full pendulum swing of politics against effective pain management. Also, please give the phone connection a pass this week as the interview starts a bit rough but indeed gets better. [EP8] Please let us know what you think of this episode and please give us a rating. Cheers, John

This week the guys discuss simple deep and controlled breathing as a way to relax while having a pain flare up or just in everyday life. Jeff has practiced and taught meditation for decades and taught John how it could help get him through a big surgery. Spend a few minutes as Jeff leads us in guided meditation on air and explains all of the benefits associated with breathing and meditation. Enjoy and please let us know what you think of the episode. [EP7]

We speak with Dr. Ugarte from University of California, Irvine about their new opioid misuse programs key tool; a peer support group on line for people trying to get off of opioids. It’s a fascinating concept that basically puts an AA or NA meeting in your pocket. So many implications for the future and truly a help to those trying to kick the habit. [EP6]

This episode we interview Dr. Eric Nadler from Kaiser Permanente and learn more about their Pain Management program. Building on the last two shows with patient Brigette McReynolds, we learn how detailed and effective this program can be. Anyone dealing with getting better and chronic pain is bound to enjoy and learn something along the way. Check out episodes 3 & 4 for the backstory interviews. [EP5]

In part two of our Brigette McReynolds interview you'll learn all about the real work involved in a chronic pain program and the very real benefits for one person that was in deep trouble in her life. Continuing the story of her chronic pain program efforts and how they paid her back, leading to her own enlightenment, you'll learn how to bring these practices into your own life . I listen to her talk and I want that enlightenment but she certainly went through a lot of hard work getting there. A truly fascinating story of life, pain and redemption. Amazing! Enjoy and learn. [EP4]

This is one of the most fascinating interviews I've ever heard when it comes to chronic pain and illness. Our guest Brigette McReynolds, was living a life of desperation and pain with debilitating migraines and fibromyalgia. By sheer luck she found a truly comprehensive and compassionate chronic pain program at Kaiser Permanente and it led to her enlightenment and truly significant changes in pain levels that have changed her life. Join us to find out more about her journey and how it can apply to you right now. Amazing! Enjoy and learn. [EP3]

With the pandemic drawing to a close many people are finding their habits and interactions have drastically changed during the shutdown. They feel very unsure of what to do and how to do it in terms of getting back to being a real person again. We'll talk about the similarities and differences between the virus lock-down and chronic pain and illnesses.We'll draw out a few roadmaps to help you no matter where you are right now. Reclaim what is rightfully yours! [EP2]