Understanding Pain for Athletes and Movers with Arthur Woznowski-Vu

Total Performance with Siobhan Milner

What is pain? Does pain always equate to tissue damage? And does pain always mean I need to stop training?

In today's episode, I have the honor of speaking with my friend, Arthur Woznowski-Vu, who has a master's degree in physiotherapy and is currently working on the last year of his Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science with a focus on pain management. So to say he knows what he is talking about is an understatement. We are getting into understanding what pain is and how it works, how the mind, brain, and body are truly inseparable, and how much our thoughts do indeed matter. Plus, we discuss how systems are very important- but only if they are set up with you in mind.

This is a very important conversation because all of us experience pain at some point in our lives, and research has shown that an understanding of the science of pain can help reduce pain- so this podcast is a great place to start!

Did you learn something new about pain in this podcast? Does anything you’ve experienced in your training or injury history make a little more sense now? Let me know over on IG!

Learn more about Arthur Woznowski-Vu:

Arthur Woznowski-Vu is a proud dad, husband, and lifelong martial artist from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has competed regionally and nationally in Karate, and when 18 suffered a knee injury resulting in surgery and a lengthy rehab process. He got back to competing afterward, but only for a short while until he got busy with pursuing his university bachelor’s and professional master’s degrees in physiotherapy at McGill University.

After a few years of clinical practice and several continuing professional development courses, Arthur became very interested in understanding pain according to the latest science, and how best to manage it and provide rehabilitation. This led him to reduce his clinical hours and go back to McGill University. He is now in the final year of his Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science, which focuses on chronic pain and sensitivity to physical activity.

Arthur currently also does some teaching at the university level and he volunteers at the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, as Chair of the Pain Science Division since the Summer of 2021. As for his plans after his Ph.D., Arthur is currently working on opening his own clinic, "The Chronic Pain Rehab Clinic".

Important Links:

• Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.
• Get the full show notes and transcript over on the episode page.
• Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook