Pain flare ups are unfortunately common, and they can be really distressing, especially if your feeling like you've been making good progress. But there are some misconceptions which can keep you in a loop. Professor Peter O'Sullivan and Dr JP Caneiro discuss patient voice Jamie's journey through the ups and downs of flare ups.

My take homes:
- Flare ups, while not pleasant, are unfortunately common and a pretty normal part of recovery.
- While they can be terrifying in the moment, the don’t last forever, and can be an incredible learning opportunity.
- They are usually more related to things that sensitise our system, like poor sleep, stressful times, being more sedentary, working longer hours, not having time to recover or doing too much too soon, and infrequently relate to creating further damage - even though it may be really painful.
- Although it can feel like a big step back and that you’ve un-done all your progress, this is rarely the case, you may find it helpful to think of it as a temporary ‘pause’ on your progress, not a restart.

Show notes available at https://www.bodylogic.physio/podcast Twitter handles @EBPPodcast @PeteOSullivanPT @JPCaneiro @KWernliPhysio *Peter O’Sullivan and JP Caneiro were awarded specialisation by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2005 and 2013 respectively. Theme music by Fervun and Cash. For educational purposes only. Created and produced by Kevin Wernli