What if we’ve been asking the wrong questions about pain?
What if instead of asking “How do I fix this?” we asked:
👉 “What is my pain trying to tell me?”
👉 “What’s the real story behind this suffering?”
👉 “What would it look like to meet myself with compassion?”
These are the questions Richmond Stace has been helping people answer for over 20 years — not through medicine, but through meaning.
A New Lens on Pain
Richmond is a physiotherapist and the founder of Pain Coaching, an approach built not around pushing through pain but understanding it.
In his words:
“Pain is never just physical. It’s a whole-person experience. It includes your memories, your fears, your beliefs, your relationships, your story.”
And that’s the game-changer:
When we stop seeing pain as the enemy to fight and start seeing it as a message to explore — everything begins to shift.
From Fixing to Listening
In our culture (and often in healthcare), we’ve been conditioned to seek fixes:
Pop the pill.
Do the protocol.
Remove the symptom.
But Richmond invites a different approach:
Be present. Be curious. Be kind.
Because in many cases of chronic or persistent pain, the body is not broken.
It’s protective. Reactive. Confused, perhaps. But not damaged beyond hope.
And what it most needs is reassurance, guidance, and partnership not punishment or panic.
Why Stories Matter More Than Symptoms
One of the most powerful moments in our conversation is when Richmond shares how the stories we carry about ourselves, our pain, and our worth can either accelerate suffering or unlock healing.
He’s seen it time and time again:
- People stuck in cycles of fear, shame, and avoidance
- People feeling gaslit or dismissed by the system
- People whose pain became their identity
And he’s helped many of them re-author their narrative.
Because when your story changes, you change.
The Role of Coaching in Recovery
Richmond’s approach blends science and soul.
Yes, it’s grounded in the latest pain neuroscience.
Yes, it includes rehab, movement, education, and strategy.
But at its heart, Pain Coaching is about connection meeting the whole person with curiosity and care.
“When someone feels truly listened to not judged, not rushed, not fixed that’s when real healing begins.”
As coaches, clinicians, and humans, this is the invitation:
To stop jumping to solutions.
To start building trust and understanding first.
Why This Isn’t Just About Pain
Though the focus is pain, the principles are universal.
This is a conversation about:
- Trusting your body again
- Finding freedom in the face of fear
- Choosing hope over helplessness
- Leading others with more empathy and awareness
It’s about unlocking not just the absence of pain…
But the presence of possibility.
Final Thoughts
Pain may be part of your story.
But it doesn’t have to be the ending.
As Richmond reminds us, transformation doesn’t start with the perfect treatment plan.
It starts with presence.
With belief.
With a different kind of conversation.
So whether you’re supporting others in pain or facing your own let this be your reminder:
You are not broken.
You are not alone.
And change is always possible.
About Richmond Stance
Richmond helps people ease and transform chronic and persistent pain and suffering, so they can live with greater freedom, confidence, and possibility.
He founded Pain Coaching over 20 years ago as both an approach and a way of being. It integrates compassion, contemporary pain science, rehabilitation, movement, and coaching to support genuine, lasting change.
Pain Coaching is not about chasing fixes or fighting the body. It is about understanding pain and suffering, meeting what is present with care and clarity, and creating a practical strategy for change. I work alongside people to help them harness their strengths, build essential skills, and take meaningful action so what matters to them becomes possible again.
At its heart, Pain Coaching is about transformation: easing suffering, restoring trust in the body, and supporting people to live themselves better.
🔗 Resources to Learn More
- Richmond’s site: www.richmondstace.com
- Read his book: Understand and Overcome Your Chronic Pain
- Substack: Pain Talking
- Instagram: @paincoach
- LinkedIn: Richmond Stace
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Unlocking Human Potential and start a new conversation about pain — and potential.