Alex McKerrow
Clinical Pain Educator & Registered Exercise Physiologist
BMedSc (Hons) Biokinetics | BSc Sport Science | MSc in Clinical Management of Pain (In Progress — University of Edinburgh). Specializing in persistent pain, biopsychosocial practice, and patient education.
Modern pain science, delivered with clarity, compassion, and clinical expertise. Pain changes lives — but understanding pain can change them back.
About Me
For most of my life, pain shaped who I was. I lived in a body that hurt every day, without answers or relief, despite seeing an endless list of professionals. Each one searched for a structural problem that wasn’t there — and the more I looked for a physical cause, the worse my pain and fear became. I tried everything — treatments, exercises, posture correction, rest, strengthening, stretching — and even unnecessary surgical explorations. Nothing made sense. In desperation, I went back to university to study myself. I completed a BSc in Sport Science, graduating summa cum laude, then a BMedSc (Hons) in Biokinetics with a first-class pass, and interned at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa before becoming a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist. Yet even with all that training, the pain continued. Everything changed when I discovered modern pain science and the biopsychosocial model. For the first time, pain made sense — not as a sign of damage, but as a protective system shaped by biology, stress, emotions, beliefs, and the brain’s interpretation of threat. My symptoms improved dramatically, and my life changed with them. That realization became my purpose. Today, I am a Clinical Pain Educator who helps people living with persistent pain understand their bodies, reduce fear, and move forward with confidence. I provide clear, evidence-based education grounded in neuroscience, psychology, movement, and compassionate support. I am currently completing a Master of Science in Clinical Management of Pain at the University of Edinburgh, advancing my expertise to support people in the most ethical and effective way possible. I don’t promise quick fixes or miracle cures. What I offer is more powerful: clarity, relief, understanding, and the tools to take back control. If pain has stolen time, confidence, or joy from your life — I’m here to help you reclaim it.
Areas of
Expertise
I specialise in making sense of complex, persistent pain. My work draws together modern pain science, biopsychosocial assessment, and clear, patient-focused communication to help people understand why they hurt—and what can change. My approach integrates lived experience, clinical reasoning, and contemporary research into a coherent, compassionate framework for supporting those with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Biopsychosocial Assessment & Clinical Reasoning
I use a structured, multidimensional assessment informed by the Walton & Elliott Radar Plot and Triangulation Model—a framework that maps seven potential pain drivers (nociceptive, neuropathic, nociplastic, cognitive, emotional, sensorimotor, and socioenvironmental). This allows me to identify the most influential mechanisms in an individual’s presentation and make targeted, mechanism-informed decisions rather than relying on generic, symptom-focused approaches.
Modern Pain Education (Conceptual Change)
I deliver accurate, evidence-based education that helps people reconceptualise pain—not as a measure of damage, but as a protective system shaped by biology, emotions, beliefs, stress, learning, and context. My educational style is grounded in neuroscience and behavioural science, aiming to reduce fear, restore confidence, and support meaningful behaviour change.
Graded Exposure & Movement Confidence
I integrate graded movement exposure to help individuals expand their capabilities, recalibrate protective responses, and rebuild trust in their bodies. This is particularly effective in nociplastic or sensitised presentations, where nervous-system reactivity and protective behaviours are highly modifiable.
Cognitive & Emotional Drivers of Pain
I work with unhelpful cognitions, fear-based patterns, pain-related beliefs, and emotional distress that can amplify symptoms. Using principles from ACT, CBT-informed strategies, and behaviour-change models—always within allied health scope—I support individuals in developing flexibility, resilience, and greater agency in their recovery.
Lived Experience + Clinical Expertise
My long personal journey with persistent pain informs everything I do. It strengthens my pattern-recognition skills, helps me communicate complex concepts simply, and enables a level of empathy that is often missing in traditional biomedical care.
For Employers
I bring an uncommon blend of advanced pain-science training (MSc Clinical Management of Pain, University of Edinburgh—ongoing), allied health qualifications, lived experience, and strong communication skills. I am well-suited to roles involving persistent pain management, digital health, interdisciplinary rehabilitation, patient education, clinical content development, and research translation—any environment where a nuanced, mechanisms-based understanding of musculoskeletal pain adds value.