Back in Control Radio Show with Dr. David Hanscom, MD

Director Kent Bassett is an Emmy-nominated editor and filmmaker from Arizona. He’s edited a number of feature documentaries that have premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, AFI Docs, Doc NYC, and the PBS World Channel. His most recent film as editor is Not Going Quietly (Tribeca), about 32-year-old father, Ady Barkan, who after being diagnosed with ALS travels the country to fight for universal health care.Much of the drive to make This Might Hurt came from Kent’s own struggle with debilitating arm pain as a 22-year-old. Unable to type on a computer or even turn a doorknob, he had to drop out of college. Although he saw several doctors and tried physical therapy, strength training, even narcotics—the pain grew steadily worse. It wasn’t until he had an insight into the role of stress and emotions that he was able to completely recover.For more information visit - http://www.thismighthurtfilm.com

Charley received his early education majoring in music and film, with extensive study in television and media, after which a unique opportunity emerged, which then led him to spend a two-year tenure as House Producer for the world famous Comedy Stores in Los Angeles, Universal Studios and Las Vegas, producing shows and career start-ups for many notables during the great comedy renaissance, including Sam Kinnison, Robin Williams, Andrew “Dice” Clay, Roseanne, Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Gary Shandling, and Richard Pryor, among many others.

David Elaimy specializes in training the minds of high level performers in athletics, business and surgery. He is the Sports Performance Consultant for the University of Washington Athletic Department, working with various coaches, athletes and teams. He is also a surgical coach, working with the neurosurgeons engaged in the Swedish Neuroscience Institute’s Cerebrovascular and Complex Spine Fellowship. David works with individuals and teams to create a powerful vision and trains them to establish the mental skills required to elevate performance while deepening joy. His simple approach helps clients identify and eliminate the interferences that cause suffering and block progress.

Dori Scherer is an artist, writer, grad student, as well as a spiritual guide-of-sorts, living in the foothills of Pasadena, CA. They are getting an MFA in studio at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Dori founded a contemporary art gallery in 2016 in Seattle called Specialist. They have had several group and solo exhibitions and have curated shows as well. Dori has also taught art to children and adults alike. They offer one-on-one Tarot and astrology readings, lead group meditations, and host a monthly community new moon ceremony, where they speak on social and spiritual concepts, encouraging a more spiritual path for all.

Mark Owen is widely regarded as one of the most successful conservation activists and wildlife field researchers ever to work in Africa. During a career that spanned more than two decades, Mark Owens and Delia, his wife, almost single-handedly saved the 33,000 square mile Central Kalahari Game Reserve/National Park. After fleeing from his 3rd assassination attempt by poachers, he developed a 750-acre private wildlife reserve in ID. He developed chronic pain for nine years after undergoing surgery for a broken back. After seeing Dr. Hanscom for a third and final opinion for major spine surgery, he broke free from his pain using simple techniques within six weeks.

Laura is a woman who I have worked with for years setting up educational programs. I did not know her real story. Throughout her life life, she was diagnosed with 9 herniated discs, stenosis in the lumbar and cervical spine, and a cyst within the spinal cord. While I had been told many times that I could not recover without surgery, I’d be in a wheelchair by the time I was 40, or dead from even a simple fall due to the fragility of my cervical spine, I never had surgery at all.She is an extraordinary athlete and back to a normal life while bypassing the surgeon’s recommendations.

Jasmine Yohai is an Expressive Arts Practitioner and has been facilitating groups since 2014. She received her M.A. in Psychology in 2015 where she bridged her love for dance and the creative process with therapy, group process and community building. For the past three years, in response to California's housing crisis, she has dedicated herself to housing the homeless in Oakland where she is originally from. She continually teaches workshops assisting Dr.Hanscom yearly and additionally carves out space for her own artist in residencies and dance projects.

Angela Heilbrunn, RN began her career in orthopedics and complex spine surgery in the trauma unit of the 1000 bed Montreal General Hospital. She has known and practiced with Dr. David Hanscom for many years, is most grateful for his mentoring and learning opportunities while integrating Structured Rehabilitation as part of patient care. Using Back in Control as the road map out of chronic pain, she helps her patients to become pain free, medication free, and fully functional. Her greatest achievement is helping patients find personal hope and motivation toward recovery

Rita is patient who suffered from chronic pain for over 50 years. She met me in 2014 and after working with me through the DOC process and another pain specialist, she broke out of chronic pain. At age 83, she feels like she is in charge and continues to pursue new challenges with a lot enjoyment. She is true inspiration.

Tom Sullivan is a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years’ experience in business, construction and real estate. He established his own brokerage at age 25. After several accidents, he developed chronic pain and a severe opioid addiction. Twenty years and 27 surgeries later he emerged out of the Abyss of pain. He has a compelling story.

Dr. Hanscom is an orthopedic complex spinal deformity surgeon who was based in Seattle, WA. He quit his surgical practice in 2018 of over 32 years to focus on teaching people how to break the grip of chronic mental and physical pain. His mission is to re-introduce true healing into medicine. He feels that doctors should be given the time to listen and understand their patients. Difficult life situations surrounding their medical problems have a tremendous impact on care and outcomes.He was part of the movement that began in the 1980’s that espoused that persistent low back pain (LBP) was best solved with surgery. However, he happened to combine forces with several national-level rehabilitation physicians early in his career and quickly noticed that patients were having better outcomes when surgery was combined with a thoughtful rehab approach. When the data came out in 1993 that the success rate for a fusion for LBP was less than 30% at two-year follow up, he immediately stopped performing the procedure. In the meantime, he descended into his own deep pit of suffering from severe chronic pain for 15 years. It began with a panic attack and he eventually developed 17 different physical symptoms. He didn’t understand what hit him, and no one could offer an explanation.During this period, he spent four years in Sun Valley, ID as primary care spine surgeon. He was able to observe the onset of acute back pain and how it would evolve into chronic pain. Since he wasn’t performing fusions for pain, he tried multiple different approaches and gradually the treatment paradigm emerged that is presented in the two editions or his book, Back in Control: A Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain. He began to witness patients improving that he thought had no hope and his own set of 17 symptoms also resolved. Over the next 15 years, he watched hundreds of patients not only break out of the grip of pain but thrive at a level that they had never before experienced. Even patients who had surgical problems cancelled their surgery because the pain resolved, which is the foundational force behind his third book, Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? Take Control with a Surgeon’s Advice.In spite of overwhelming data that has revealed the answers to chronic pain, the medical culture has become more aggressive in performing interventions that have repeatedly documented to be ineffective, expensive and risky. The consequences are brutal both at a societal and individual level. This ever powerful juggernaut of ineffective spine surgery caused him to quit his practice to pursue educating the public and providers about the dangers of current situation and also present the consistently effective solutions.