Why I Built Bigger Than Pain
Most people with persistent pain are told to keep searching for the right treatment.
Try another exercise.
See another specialist.
Get another scan.
But after working with people in pain for years, one thing became clear to me:
The real problem isn't a lack of treatments.
It's that people are left trying to piece everything together on their own.
Bigger Than Pain was built to change that.
My Experience With Pain
Pain wasn't just something I studied.
It was something I lived with.
For years I dealt with persistent pain myself. Even with a clinical background, it still took me about 12–13 years to fully understand and work through what I was struggling with.
That experience shaped how I think about recovery.
Pain is rarely just one thing.
It's a system problem — involving movement, nervous system sensitivity, sleep, stress, and the beliefs we develop about what our body can or can't do.
And that means recovery needs a system too.
David Mc Gettigan
My Work With Chronic Pain
I'm a physical therapist specialising in chronic pain.
Over the years I've worked with thousands of people dealing with persistent pain conditions.
I've also had the privilege of teaching clinicians internationally, including training practitioners in methods such as P-DTR and Anatomy in Motion.
What I've seen repeatedly is that many people are given excellent pieces of the puzzle — but rarely the full picture.
That's the gap Bigger Than Pain is designed to fill.
What Bigger Than Pain Targets
Most pain programmes focus on one element of recovery.
Exercises.
Education.
Mindset.
Stress.
But persistent pain is rarely solved by focusing on one piece alone.
Bigger Than Pain brings these pieces together into one coherent system.
Instead of trying to figure everything out yourself, the platform helps you understand:
- what's happening in your body
- what actions are most helpful right now
- how to navigate flare-ups
- how recovery actually progresses over time
What Makes Bigger Than Pain Different
Deep personalisation
Your onboarding builds a detailed understanding of your history, triggers, movement tolerance, sleep patterns, and recovery goals.
Guidance that adapts
The platform helps you decide what to do, when to do it, and how much is enough — then adapts as your body changes.
One system to follow
Instead of piecing recovery together from scattered advice, you get one connected system.
If You're Dealing With Persistent Pain
If you've been searching for answers for a long time, you're not alone.
Persistent pain is incredibly frustrating — especially when you've already tried so many things.
Bigger Than Pain is designed to help you step back, understand the bigger picture, and move forward with a clearer plan.