Chronic Pain Relief: My Story

Life Before Pain

Back in the day, I was an über athletic chick: an avid cyclist, swimmer, and jogger, a women’s self-defense instructor, and most importantly, a dance fiend. On any given night of the week, you could catch me at the local clubs, euphorically dancing the night away.

That all changed following a hit & run, head-on car collision in 1997 — when I joined the ranks of millions of Americans (over half the population) living with chronic pain. Turning to the health care system, I soon found myself spinning through a hell common to those seeking chronic pain relief:

Chronic Pain Hell

I was misdiagnosed, refused tests, dismissed as a hypochondriac, physically injured, emotionally traumatized, and financially drained by the very practitioners who were supposed to help me heal. As a result, I ended up not only in pain, but also in despair. By 2004, I had sunk so low that contemplating suicide became as much a part of my morning routine as drinking a cup of coffee.

That year, a friend dragged me out of my urban apartment – which I had become afraid to leave – and took me to a retreat in the middle of the desert. On the first night, I cried bitterly while watching an electrifying dance troupe perform in the white desert sand. Barely able to walk, I knew I had forever lost the ability to move so passionately and vigorously.

Transcending Pain

After the dancers and audience members left, however, as the music blared over the loudspeakers and tears streamed down my face, I raised my arms – the only body part not in pain – and began moving them to the music. And so I began to dance again.

Having re-conceptualized dance as something other than leaps, twirls, and fancy footwork, I continued dancing at my edge for the duration of the retreat. To my astonishment, I found that edge moving out farther and farther — until the fourth day of the retreat, when I was magically able to tear up the dance floor as in years past. Tears, this time of rapture and gratitude, streamed down my cheeks once again.

Dancing with Pain

Since that time, I have explored the magic and spirit of dance as a powerful and innovative tool for chronic pain relief. I have used it to help heal myself, and I have developed it as a methodology to help heal other individuals suffering from pain.

Beyond the physical aspect, I have used Dancing with Pain® as a metaphor for creating a dynamic emotional and spiritual relationship to pain – so that patients are no longer victims of depression, anxiety, and fear, but rather powerful dance partners with them.

Lastly, I have used the Dancing with Pain® model as an educational tool in guiding health care practitioners – so that they understand how to work effectively and caringly with chronic pain patients.

Loolwa Khazzoom
Dancing with Pain® Founder
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Loolwa’s Bio

Loolwa Khazzoom is the founder and CEO of Dancing with Pain®, a health & wellness company that offers natural pain relief solutions and that has been featured in media outlets including ABC News and The New York Times. Loolwa has written about health & wellness in general, and natural pain relief in particular, for media outlets including The Washington Post, CNN, Yoga Journal, Self, BBC News, The Boston Globe, and AARP. In these capacities, she has worked with leading healthcare practitioners and pain specialists, including Andrew Weil, M.D., Martin Rossman, M.D., David Simon, M.D., James Dillard, M.D., and Mark Young, M.D.

Loolwa has lectured at institutions including Harvard University and Brown University on the East Coast and the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Skirball Cultural Center on the West Coast. She also has been a featured expert in numerous documentaries and in interviews on radio, television, the internet, and print media; she has published two books; and she blogs on natural pain relief and numerous other topics. In addition, Loolwa is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has performed internationally.

Following a hit-and-run, head-on car collision in 1997, Loolwa went from bad to worse in the medical system. In 2005, she discovered dance as a primary modality of healing herself from pain and disability, and in 2006, she began teaching this method to others, along with lifestyle management strategies and patient care techniques. Through Dancing with Pain®, Loolwa now offers a full line of natural pain relief products and services for healthcare consumers and practitioners.

Advisory Team

Integrative Medicine:

James Dillard, M.D., D.C., C.Ac.
Chronic pain specialist

Dr. Dillard is a medical doctor, acupuncturist, chiropractor, and one of the leading pain specialists in America. He has served as a faculty member of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and as the Medical Director of the Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Dillard has a private practice in New York – through which he has been recognized by New York Magazine as one of the top doctors in the area. In addition, he has been the featured medical expert in numerous media outlets, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and CBS Evening News, and he facilitated a PBS special called Chronic Pain Relief. Dr. Dillard is the author of two books, The Chronic Pain Solution and Alternative Medicine for Dummies

John Kennedy, M.D.
Integrative medicine cardiologist

Dr. Kennedy is a cardiologist with a specialty in the mind-heart-brain connection and the examination of how stress adversely affects our delicate cardiovascular system. He serves as the Director of Preventive Cardiology and Wellness at Marina Del Rey Hospital in Marina Del Rey, CA, and he is on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, through which he speaks regularly on the association’s behalf. Dr. Kennedy has been a featured medical expert in numerous media outlets, including The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, and he is a celebrity doctor for the Hollywood news show Extra. He is the author of The 15 Minute Heart Cure and creator of the BREATHE™ technique, which combines two proven forms of relaxation: guided imagery and breath work.

Kenneth Pelletier, Ph.D., MD(hc)
Integrative medicine specialist

Dr. Pelletier is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Arizona School of Medicine, as well as a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco (UCSF). At the University of Arizona, Dr. Pelletier is Director of the Corporate Health Improvement Program (CHIP) which is a collaborative research program between CHIP and 15 of the Fortune 500 corporations. He also is Chairman of the American Health Association and is a Vice President at Healthtrac Incorporated. Dr. Pelletier is the author of ten major books, including the international best seller Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer.

Martin Rossman, M.D., Dipl. Ac., N.C.C.A.O.M.
Mind-body medicine specialist

Dr. Rossman is a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine. His ground-breaking research in guided imagery has contributed to the current paradigm of holistic health and has influenced the work of today’s leading specialists, including Andrew Weil, Dean Ornish, and Rachel Remen. Dr. Rossman is the director of The Healing Mind in Greenbrae, CA. He additionally serves as a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UCSF, an Executive Committee Member at the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine fellowship Program, and an Advisory Board Member at the Rosenthal Center for Complementary Medicine at Columbia University. Dr. Rossman is the author of numerous books, including Guided Imagery for Self-Healing and his forthcoming book, The Worry Solution.

Mark Young, M.D.
Chronic pain specialist

Dr. Young is a board-certified specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Physiatry) and is a licensed acupuncturist, with a sub-specialty in pain management. Dr. Young currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Maryland Rehabilitation Center. In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Practical Pain Management. He is the author of over 70 publications relating to Rehabilitation Medicine, including the book Women and Pain, and he is co-author of three rehabilitation textbooks. His publications have appeared in a diverse array of medical and lay journals, including Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), New England Journal of Medicine and The New York Times.

Holistic Health:

Anasuya Basil, NC, Dipl ABT, CST
Nutritionist, cranio-sacral and acupressure therapist

Ms. Basil utilizes holistic nutrition and multiple modalities of therapeutic bodywork, to help people with chronic musculo-skeletal pain, depression, and hormonal imbalances. She is a Diplomate in Asian Bodywork Therapy, certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and she uses Tui Na, Shiatsu and Acupressure in her practice. She is also a certified Nutrition Consultant and prenatal masseuse, and she is a member of the Association of Bodywork Therapies of Asia, the National Association of Nutrition Professionals, and the American CranioSacral Therapy Association.

Carrie Rowell, LMT
Massage therapist and sacred dance instructor

Ms. Rowell is a specialist in diverse methods of sacred dance and spontaneous healing movement, including Hula, Middle Eastern Belly Dance, Qi Gong, Tai Chi. She also is a licensed massage therapist who integrates the ancient healing art of lomi lomi and numerous other modalities of bodywork, such as Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Pregnancy massage, cranio-sacral therapy, and acupressure. In addition, Ms. Rowell is a DONA certified birth doula. She has traveled all over the world teaching lomi lomi massage, sacred dance and healing and empowerment workshops for women. She is an NCBTMB continuing education provider and approved by the Bureau of Post Secondary Education of California.

Media:

Brad Lemley
Media Specialist

Mr. Lemley is the editorial director of DrWeil.com, the website of Andrew Weil, MD. Previously, Mr. Lemley worked as a television reporter and anchor, a radio reporter, and a freelance writer for leading media outlets including The Washington Post, Life, and Discover. In addition, he co-authored two books, including It’s Not What Happens to You, It’s What You Do about It.

Advocacy:

Beth Darnall, PhD
Pain psychologist

Dr. Darnall is a psychologist working with adults suffering from chronic pain. She specializes in the areas of women with chronic pain, limb loss & phantom pain, and improved patient access to pain care. Dr. Darnall is an Assistant Professor at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and she offers chronic pain treatment through the OHSU Comprehensive Pain Center at and at OHSU Hospital. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Pain Society of Oregon, the End the Pain Project, and the non-profit For Grace.

Frank Ille
Co-founder, HealthSaaS, Inc

Frank Ille is a chronic pain patient, pain researcher, patient advocate, and Health 2.0 business development/strategic alliance professional. He also is the creator of HealthSaaS.net, a web-based Software as a Service (SaaS) application that facilitates better communication between patients and their healthcare providers. HealthSaaS.net enables members to record every aspect of their pain levels, treatment plan, and quality-of-life concerns.

Michael Ramsey
Educational Content Manager, Pain.com

Mr. Ramsey is a senior-level Instructional Designer, producing educational materials that address the needs of healthcare professionals and consumers. He is himself a chronic pain patient, and at Pain.com, he works with staff and company partners in developing certified educational activities related to pain management.

Shannon Stocker, MD, MS
CRPS patient advocate

Since 2000, Dr. Stocker has suffered from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, one of the most debilitating chronic pain conditions. After years of misdiagnosed symptoms and failed treatments, she elected to participate in a research trial involving deep anesthetic doses of ketamine, infused over a 5 day coma. The treatment was successful, and Dr. Stocker now lives a mostly-pain-free life. Stocker wrote a blog chronicling her battle with RSD, her treatment, and subsequent recovery.