The Most Painful Podcast

Tom Hoppe is your host of THE MOST PAINFUL PODCAST.

“I'm a veteran myself and I've been involved with veteran advocacy for 18 plus years. I got involved with the chronic pain center of excellence just as they were starting up. And they were talking about paying navigators or coaches, which I've done some work with veterans. That's how our relationship is.

The room was full of researchers. Clinicians really cared about veterans and who wanted to see those markers move through research and evidence-based research veterans suffer twice that of the civilian population when it comes to chronic pain. And why?

We’ve got to take a step back and really just say, well, what's it mean to be a soldier, culture and identity?

Is that the impact that affects veterans, that thought bank, their military mindset of mission-first, team, regiment and self last is very different. And in order to complete the mission, one must push through. So, we become numb to pain. Mission First and self-last really ties into the chronic pain.

Knowledge is power. So, through education, they will be able to better manage their chronic pain. We’re going to talk about that on the show.

How do you manage your chronic pain?

And, as researchers, we have to understand that veterans have a different culture.

And when they're doing research, it can’t be viewed through a civilian lens.

Do it through the lens of a veteran. It's not the same as a civilian’s. It's not the same as first responders’. And that is important to understand and same with the clinicians. When they have a veteran walk into their clinic, it’s important to understand the military culture. You don't want to say anything about your injuries, because it can impact your career.

It could impact how you're viewed within your unit. And on top of that, some veterans who do not fully understand the Veterans’ Affairs system may also not want to disclose because it could impact their benefits.

So, this education is a 360 approach. It's the veteran, it's the researcher and the clinicians. And by doing that, perhaps we can provide a better outcome for them. Because the veteran, as with any type of healthcare, the patient. In this case, the veteran has a responsibility to meet the clinician halfway to do their part.

And we can do that through education."

The MOST PAINFUL PODCAST is produced for the Chronic Pain Center of Excellence by Story Studio Network and iContact Productions.