ABOUT ME

Katie Rothwell

Background

I used to be a fit young female working as a Physical Education Officer in the Royal Air Force.  My entire identity revolved around being a physically fit military woman.  Until back pain took that from me.  After experiencing excruciating pain soon after becoming a mother, I couldn’t even pick up my own baby!  Following an MRI I was told that I had Degenerative Disc Disease and that my spine was very fragile.  I was advised not to run, not to carry bergens (heavy military backpack), and to generally stick to gentle exercise only.  I was only 30 and relied on my physical fitness to do my job.  I was led to believe that I would have to learn to live with this pain.  One physio told me that the pain was in my head – I wanted to punch him!  Have you been told that you will just have to learn to live with your symptoms?  Have you need told that your symptoms are in your head?  Have you been made to feel like you are a time waster?

I was prescribed powerful pain medication to manage my symptoms.  I was also a solo parent of my young children as my husband was serving in Afghanistan.  I remember taking this medication and knocked me out. Boy did I sleep well.  I slept so well that I didn’t hear my children’s screams.  Eventually I woke in a panic of guilt that I hadn’t been there for them.  It was at this point that I realised that pain medication was not an option for me.  I remember an osteopath telling me about a video created by Lorimer Moseley (an Australian Physiotherapist and Pain Scientist). I watched this video and learned that my discs were not causing me my pain.   In fact 50% of 30 year olds without pain show signs of degeneration in their spinal MRIs.  This was a turning point towards recovery.  Turns out that pain education really does work.  It’s empowering and puts our recovery journey well and truly in our own hands.  Imagine not having to rely on endless appointments with doctors, consultants and physios? The more you understand the more you are able to identify the root cause of pain and once this is identified you can fix it.  I threw myself into learning more about pain and learned that there was so much modern pain science that hadn’t even filtered into the medical system yet.  The more I learned the more I realised that persistent pain is far more complex that just looking at damaged tissues. Stress, emotions, sleep (or lack of), fear, lifestyle, nervous system all influence pain.  Gaining understanding of this literally gave me my life back.  I’m now physically fit again and enjoying life again.

Why B.E.A.T Pain?

I’ve combined my own experience, extensive knowledge around human physiology, clinical practice and the latest pain science to create the BEAT Pain Method.  A framework that brings together Brain, Energy, Activity and Therapy because lasting recovery rarely comes from addressing just one piece of the puzzle.  Persistent pain is multifaceted and therefore it needs a multifaceted approach to fix it.

Learn more about the BEAT Pain Method here

The BEAT Pain Method

How Can Katie Help You?

I work with individuals living with persistent pain, organisations wanting to improve workplace wellbeing, and heathcare professionals looking to better understand modern pain science.  I work both online and in person.  I’ve also designed online courses covering the BEAT Pain Method and built a community through the Circle Membership so that individuals don’t have to feel alone in this journey of recovery.

My mission is simple – to change the conversation around persistent pain.  So fewer people are told to simply “live with it”, so that fewer people rely on debilitating drugs, so that more people can regain their lives back and go back to living optimally.  With the right knowledge and support , life can become bigger than pain.

“Translating the science of persistent pain into practical strategies that help people reclaim their lives”

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