Exercise Science, Studies Show

On this episode, Em & I chatted through her recent paper 'Social determinants of health equity for people with pain: from understanding to action', which she led as a clinical update for the IASP global year in review for 2025.
Em walks us through what are the Social Determinants of Health, how these can impact ouctomes, a framework for clinicians and then lots of really interesting chat.
This is an excellent episode that will (hopefully) help you to slow down and reflect!
Paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41450708/
Emily's bio & where to find her:
Emily Walker is a PhD candidate at UNSW and Neuroscience Research Australia, using process evaluation to explore patient-led goal setting and pain science education for people with chronic low back pain. She also spends her time reading about social determinants of pain, health equity, and critical qualitative approaches to health research. Clinically, she works as an exercise physiologist in a multidisciplinary clinic, mainly supporting people with musculoskeletal concerns. She is also an Associate Lecturer at UNSW, where she is involved in subjects on research methods, musculoskeletal health, and special populations.
 
Insta: emwalker_exphys 
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-walker-exphys/⁠
Blue Sky: emwalkerexphys.bsky.social

It was great to have Soph back on for another chat! This was a great discussion around what complexity means, and how systems thinking can help us navigate that. This convo definitely made me think and I hope it does the same for you. This should serve as somewhat of an intro and a bit to chew on for systems thinking and Soph has been so kind as to provide some resources for further reading, which you can find below beneath her bio:
Soph is a queer, Autistic/ADHD woman living andworking on Wiradjuri country (Wagga Wagga). She is an APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, Pain Revolution Local Pain Educator & Mentor, and Clinical Director of Vive Pain & Fatigue, a niche telehealth practice established to support those living with complex persistent pain, chronic fatigue, and invisible illnesses. Soph is also a researcher and current PhD candidate, with interests spanning pain and fatigue management, health equity, rural health, neurodivergence,psychologically-informed care, and suicide prevention within physiotherapy. An experienced educator and speaker, Soph has presented nationally and internationally, including invited lectures for the Australian Physiotherapy Association, the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta, and University ofLondon (City). Her expertise has also been recognised with invited presentations at both the 2025 Global Ehlers-Danlos Conference and the 2025 Australian Pain Society Conference. In her spare time she also hosts a podcast, Beyond Pain & Fatigue.
@vivepainandfatigue
Resources:
Arnold, R. D., & Wade, J. P. (2017). A complete set of systems thinking skills. Insight, 20(3), 9-17.
Snowden, D. J. (2004). Managing for Serendipity or why we should lay off "best practice” in KM. Ark Group’s Knowledge Management Magazine, 8.
Doll Jr, W. E., & Trueit, D. (2010). Complexity and the health care professions: Complexity and health care professions. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 16(4), 841–848. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01497.x
Zinsstag, J., Schelling, E., Waltner-Toews, D., & Tanner, M. (2011). From “one medicine” to “one health” and systemic approaches to health and well-being. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 101(3–4), 148–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2010.07.003

Welcome back! Kicking off 2026 with a chat with Ewan 'The ADHD EP' - Please find Ewan's bio and links below. This was a good chat about how exercise practitioners should consider ADHD in clinical interactions. Ewan discusses the first two of his PhD studies and some really great clinical take aways!
Bio:
Ewan, also known as Chris, is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney (USYD) studying Exercise in Adults with ADHD. He draws on his experience in clinical practice and his own lived experience of ADHD to inform his research and, combined with his research knowledge, provide accurate, accessible and applicable information at The ADHD EP. 
He is a member of the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA) and has presented to a variety of groups and events including providing training and education for teams of clinicians and consumers as well as lecturing on ADHD to Exercise Physiology students at USYD.
 His passion and research focus is centred around improving our understanding and implementation of exercise to improve the health and wellbeing of Adults with ADHD. 

Links:
Instagram - @the_adhd_ep
Website - TheADHDep.com
[email protected]

This was a great chat with Jess, who I was lucky enough to teach in my first ever year of teaching back at WSU. Jess and I catch up on what she has been doing in the meantime & it sounds like an awesome journey. From Arizona State University to working at Google and all of the lessons along the way - this is a fantastic episode and a must listen for anyone keen on how translational the S&C skillset really is!

Jess' bio & links:
Jess De Silva is a Performance Coach for EXOS @ Google, specialising in bridging the gap between research and practice across various populations. While her day-to-day focuses on corporate performance, Jess brings a robust history of hands-on athletic experience, including leading the S&C program for the Sydney University American Football Club (U20's and Men's). A dedicated professional with a Master’s degree in Strength and Conditioning and experience interning at Arizona State University, Jess is uniquely positioned to discuss adaptable, evidence-based training methods.
LinkedIn - Jess De Silva
Instagram - @jess_desilva

This was a fantastic chat with emily about this paper (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40987621/), which was a mediation analysis of a previous trial (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808666/). Emily was the lead author and walks us through what mediation is and why it is important for clinical trials, what this study found, what it means for clinical practice, and what is next!
Emily and I get into some great discussion around relevant clinical strategies that can be derived from this paper (and other relevant literature) as well as some healthy banter along the way.
This episode is a great listen & make sure to keep posted for a follow up ep that we talk about toward the end!

Emily's bio & where to find her:
Emily Walker is a PhD candidate at UNSW and Neuroscience Research Australia, using process evaluation to explore patient-led goal setting and pain science education for people with chronic low back pain. She also spends her time reading about social determinants of pain, health equity, and critical qualitative approaches to health research. Clinically, she works as an exercise physiologist in a multidisciplinary clinic, mainly supporting people with musculoskeletal concerns. She is also an Associate Lecturer at UNSW, where she is involved in subjects on research methods, musculoskeletal health, and special populations.
 
Insta: emwalker_exphys 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-walker-exphys/
Blue Sky: emwalkerexphys.bsky.social