Conversations About the Journey Through Chronic Pain
Care Beyond the Pain is a weekly podcast hosted by Dr. Jason W. Siefferman, Founder and Medical Director of Manhattan Pain Medicine.
Each episode explores a different part of the chronic pain journey through conversations with the people who experience it, study it, diagnose it, treat it, and help others navigate it.
For patients and families, the podcast offers context for a process that can often feel difficult to understand: finding the right care, evaluating treatment options, managing setbacks, and recognizing what progress may look like.
For clinicians and healthcare professionals, the conversations offer perspectives across specialties and disciplines, exploring how different approaches can contribute to a more complete understanding of complex pain.
The goal is not to provide individual medical advice or a single answer to chronic pain. It is to bring together experiences, expertise, and questions that can help make the journey easier to understand.
Latest Episodes
New episodes of Care Beyond the Pain are released weekly and are available on all major streaming platforms.
Explore conversations about diagnosis, treatment, recovery, multidisciplinary care, the patient experience, and the many factors that shape life with chronic pain.
S1E5 – Minimally Invasive or Minimally Effective? | Dr. Arthur L. Jenkins III
Spine surgery should begin with understanding what is actually causing the problem, not simply finding something abnormal on an MRI. Neurosurgeon Dr. Arthur L. Jenkins III joins Dr. Jason Siefferman to discuss diagnostic testing, surgical decision-making, hypermobility and craniocervical instability, Bertolotti syndrome, and why the least invasive procedure is only useful when it effectively addresses the underlying problem.
Learn more about Dr. Arthur L. Jenkins III at Jenkins NeuroSpine.
S1E4 – When POTS Is Only Part of the Picture | Dr. Alexis Cutchins
POTS can look like a heart problem, but the full picture may reach far beyond the cardiovascular system. Cardiologist Dr. Alexis Cutchins joins Dr. Jason Siefferman to explore the overlap among POTS, MCAS, hypermobility, vascular compression, and chronic pain, and why complex symptoms often require looking across body systems rather than treating each complaint in isolation.
Learn more about Dr. Alexis Cutchins at Cutchins Cardiovascular Medicine.
S1E3 – Why Exercise Alone Isn’t Enough | Nathan Sherwood PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS
Physical therapy for complex pain is about more than getting stronger. Nathan Sherwood, PT, DPT, joins Dr. Jason Siefferman to explore how movement patterns, stability, proprioception, and compensations can influence pain and recovery. They discuss hypermobility, functional manual therapy, and why treatment often requires breaking movement down before building it back up.
S1E2 – When Chronic Pain Takes Over Your Life | Dr. Ravi Shah
Chronic pain affects far more than physical health. Psychiatrist Dr. Ravi Shah joins Dr. Jason Siefferman to explore how persistent pain can reshape identity, relationships, and daily life. They discuss medical trauma, anxiety, and how psychiatric care and practical coping strategies can help people regain confidence, a sense of control, and quality of life.
S1E1 – When Pain Doesn’t Show Up on a Scan | Dr. Joshua Weaver
Dr. Jason Siefferman sits down with neurologist Dr. Joshua Weaver to explore why pain does not always show up clearly on imaging or diagnostic testing. They discuss peripheral neuropathy, nervous system sensitization, fibromyalgia, and why listening, clinical examination, continuity of care, and an iterative approach can be essential when the diagnosis is not immediately clear.
Learn more about Dr. Joshua Weaver at Weill Cornell Medicine.
S1E0 – The Chronic Pain Journey: Discovery, Treatment, and Maintenance
Dr. Jason Siefferman introduces the framework behind Care Beyond the Pain, exploring the three phases of the chronic pain journey: Discovery, Treatment, and Maintenance. He explains why understanding how and why pain persists is essential, how treatment can help refine a diagnosis, and why progress is rarely a straight line.
Pain, Answered
If chronic pain has left you with more questions than answers, Pain, Answered offers a practical framework for making sense of the journey and understanding what may need to happen next.
Written for people living with persistent pain, as well as the families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals supporting them, the book offers a clearer way to think about Discovery, Treatment, and Maintenance without promising a one-size-fits-all solution.
