A new way to help your patients with chronic pain

I have always been really healthy. I've always been very strong and active. Over a year ago, I started getting lower back and hip pain. I ignored it until I just couldn’t anymore. 

I tried physical therapy, doctors, got an MRI, nothing was working. My pain worsened and I had stopped doing yoga, I even stopped walking. I became depressed.

My body was always really strong, and I just didn’t trust it anymore. 

I thought I would try Lin since the program took my insurance in Maine.

I got paired with coach Heidi, who I absolutely love. We had weekly meetings where we discussed my pain and the fear surrounding it. She helped me gradually get back into

everything I had stopped doing and was always there for me when I needed her during a flare up.

I recommended it to my husband, Rhett, who has had chronic back pain for 40 years. They paired him with coach Tim, and he’s a whole new person since he’s started. 

Both of our coaches Heidi and Tim have been able to identify what works for each of us, even though we are very different people.

Our lives were so limited, we were in pain, and we were so scared of doing everything. 

Our lives are in such a better place now, we’re able to go on walks together now and don’t take a single step for granted. It has made such a huge difference in both of our lives.

Six months ago, I was lost in my pain.

It started in my right hip, and even after surgery and physical therapy it wouldn’t go away. Instead, it spread to my back and more of my body. I was living in constant fear, worried about every movement.

I did so many treatments and nothing worked. I started thinking that I was a medical mystery -not understanding put me in a very dark place. I just wanted to be myself again, that’s when I found Lin.

I worked with my coach to create a plan that fit my personality. We started with educational information, then somatic tracking, breathwork meditation, yoga, and building evidence lists. It was all very empowering.

I had previously tried some of this on my own, but with Tim’s guidance I had a breakthrough.

Lin shifted my perspective of chronic pain.

I had a lot of built-up stress, I lost all my healthy outlets because of my pain. New health issues would appear without going away.

My coach, Tim, helped me understand that my brain was trying to tell me that I was hurting, that something was wrong, and I wasn't dealing with things.

He helped me get to the point where I could understand that my body was fine and that my brain was the one that needed my attention.

Just six months ago, my world felt so small. Now, if something hurts, I know it’s gonna get better.

Thanks to Lin, I’m able to trace the origin of my pain and look back and see how my body was expressing stress through pain sensations. Knowing this helps me heal.

I was always very active. I played tennis all the time. But then it became injury after injury.

For 10 years, I had constant pain and soreness. I even had to use a scooter to get around. The doctors suggested surgery, and diagnosed me with arthritis, but the pain wouldn’t stop.

I discovered the mind-body connection and started reading up on it, but my knee just wouldn’t get better. When I came across Lin, I figured, why not give it a try?

I had done some learning on my own but when I started working with Coach Tara, she pushed me beyond anything I could do on my own.

She was so responsive, and personalized the program just for me.

It was fascinating that tennis, the sport I love most, was a big pain trigger for me.

My brain was holding onto ‘muscle memory’ from all my injuries. I also know now that complaining about it was making it worse.

Lin’s approach helped me gain control of my nervous system, I feel so much stronger now. I play tennis two to three days a week and have added yoga three times a week to my routine.

Lin brought it all together for me and I have been able to achieve so much more in my life.

I lived with fibromyalgia and other symptoms for 25 years. I wouldn't describe it as a life or living. A hug hurt, smiling hurt.

By the time I started Lin, I was ready to be well.

I was at a point where you could have told me to stand on my head, and if I thought it would work, I would've done it. I was in the emergency room every two weeks or so. It was absurd to me. I didn't understand. And it was getting worse and worse.

Then came Lin, offering a new approach. The first thing I learned with Lin is that my brain controls most of my pain, and it's up to me to regulate my nervous system. I learned how to develop new neural pathways in order to change the way my body reacts to pain.

I haven't been to the ER for almost a year.

Lin set my arrow on a straight path toward my target - freedom from pain & overall wellness.

But it was hard work, holding that arrow in place. There were lots of challenges that threatened to throw me off course. I had a lot of childhood trauma to work through. Lin showed me how to allow space for the hard things and gave me the tools to do the work. 

The thing about Lin that really moved the needle for me was my coach, Shannon.

Since I started the brain-first approach with Lin my life is full. I am no longer a victim.

I feel I have control over my mind and my body. I have a life now. I can smile. I can accept a hug, and it doesn't hurt.

To anyone who is considering Lin, I say, “Try it!” You really have nothing to lose but pain.

Meet Marla Brettschneider. Marla is a professor, mother and loving partner.

Two years ago, Marla had a seemingly safe sinus surgery. However, instead of a speedy recovery, Marla experienced severe side effects that forced her to undergo two additional emergency surgeries. After the surgeries, when Marla didn’t get any better, it became clear that she had nerve trauma.

She spent months in her dark bedroom, often unable to even bear the light from a screen.

She struggled with everything from moving to executive functioning. Even writing an email to her doctors was too hard.

Marla worked with her doctors at Lowell Pain Center and with her Lin Pain Recovery Coach to treat the root of the pain - her nervous system was stuck in hyper-response.

In weekly sessions with her Lin coach, she used Lin’s care kits and program resources to better understand what her brain and body were experiencing.

She learned the foundations of pain science. She began to understand how her pain signaling system was trying to protect her from danger.

She learned what the pain-fear cycle is, and learned how to get out of it. After a few months of working with her care team, Marla was able to get her life back. She’s able to do everything now that the pain — and the fear of pain— had taken from her.

Marla can now leave that dark bedroom and get up, get dressed, go teach her students, and come home to sit with her family for dinner. Pain-free.

I have been very athletic my whole life, I was a judo competitor for 18 years, loved working out, and walking my dogs. It all became impossible because of the pain.

I had three orthopedic surgeries within a year, and developed CRPS. I had excruciating pain all over my body, even my hair hurt, I felt like it was on fire.

I found a clinic that specializes in CRPS, but there was a year-long waitlist and I was near the cliff emotionally. I didn’t want to try ketamine, narcotics, or injections, but the pain was really bad.

I was searching for ways to reduce my pain, I found pain reprocessing, which led me to Lin.

I was at the edge of a cliff when I found Lin.

I began working with my coach and it was amazing. It’s like she knows what I need before I even need it.

The team was so understanding and helpful, they have been so compassionate and encouraging.

I felt really heard, my experience with Lin was the complete opposite of my experience with the healthcare system.

It brought my life a whole new level of access that was simply unavailable to me before.

Learning that chronic pain is my primary diagnosis changed my life. I learnt about the mind-body interaction and how the fear cycle works, it made a huge difference in my life.

It increased the quality of my life, both physically and mentally, my life has changed tremendously.