We recently connected with Tawny Kross and have shared our conversation below.

Tawny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Chronic pain is complex, and as we are learning more and more in the research, it takes a whole person mind-body approach to truly help people realize transformation and change.

But that’s not a lesson that’s really taught well in conventional medicine–in fact, it was hardly taught at all when I was in grad school.

So when I graduated from PT school, I rolled into my work place at the VA hospital my guns-a-blazing (and by guns, I mean muscles … ) thinking I could “solve” the majority of pain issues that came my way.

Looking back, I’m not sure that I even helped 25% of the patients that I saw.

And rarely did things seem to make sense — why did some people have severe arthritis on x-rays and not have any pain? Why did so many people look “fine” but have so much pain? Why did so much of my examination, my assessment, the proposed helpful exercises I gave people … turn up short?

I remember one young woman in particular I was examining burst into tears as I was testing her and she couldn’t generate enough muscle “strength” to hold up her leg (even though she exercised all the time). “Why am I so weak?” she sobbed.

That particular moment was when I KNEW I had to figure out why so much of pain and how we treated it didn’t make sense. It was either that or live in the status quo of burnout and puzzlement that plagues so many providers that serve those with chronic pain.

And it was through that exploration, that journey and that openness of mind that I realized the power AND necessity behind seeing the whole person in their pain journey–and helping them see it, too. It is what allows a person to heal from pain and feel … well … WHOLE.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I graduated with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University in 2013 after a couple of years working as a landscape architect. Needless to say, it was not a straightforward transition. I made the big move into physical therapy after wrestling with what I felt most passionate about: health and healing.

My journey as a chronic pain specialist and coach evolved from nearly a decade of practice at a Veteran’s Hospital. Because of the complex histories, physical and sexual traumas many Veterans have, in order to better serve and help them heal from chronic pain, I grew my practice, knowledge and breadth of expertise to include nutrition; hypnosis; guided imagery; mindfulness; pain neuroscience education; breathwork; mind-body practices and more.

What sets me apart from others is my ability and experience to combine mind AND body in the healing process, an ability to make the journey less complex and burdensome. Also, bad mom jokes.

I’m most proud of my ability connect with people and make them feel validated and incredibly supported. I want people out there with pain to know that they are 1) not alone, 2) there are SO many people who care about their healing (including me) and 3) I am as invested in their healing journey as much as they are.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I would absolutely choose physical therapy if I could go back. It was in this journey that I first developed the expertise in the body and movement and led me later on to be able to become an expert in the mind and how all that ties together in chronic pain.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I would say my pivot from 1) landscape architecture to physical therapy (I had gotten laid off from my job during the 2008 recession and housing crisis) and 2) feeling stuck in treating complex chronic pain conditions with ONLY traditional physical therapy tools are examples of the fact that I don’t just allow myself to get complacent — I adapt and fail forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: drtawnykross.com
• Instagram: instagram/dr.tawny.kross
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.tawny.kross
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tawny-kross-6158a0210