In this episode of the Pain Free Athlete Podcast, Dana Jones welcomes Dr. Leia Rispoli, a former Division I soccer player and double board-certified interventional pain medicine physician, for an honest conversation about aging, athletic identity, and the challenge of slowing down enough to listen to your body.

Together, they explore the shift from pushing through pain to making room for recovery, the value of cross-training, and why meaningful goals matter when navigating pain. Dana also shares how her relationship with yoga and body awareness changed after decades of migraines.

This conversation is about finding ways to keep doing what you love—with adjustments that support the athlete you are today.

About Dr Rispoli:

Dr. Leia Rispoli is a double board-certified interventional pain medicine physician specializing in non-surgical pain management. With a compassionate, patient-centered approach, she helps individuals overcome chronic and acute pain using advanced, evidence-based treatments. Her goal is to restore function, reduce discomfort, and enhance quality of life.

She treats a wide range of conditions, including low back pain, neck pain, joint pain, pelvic pain, and headaches. By utilizing minimally invasive techniques, Dr. Rispoli empowers patients to regain mobility and improve their well-being.

Dr Rispoli's links:

https://leiarispolimd.com/

Dana’s Links:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.painfreeathletepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠10 Day Journaling Journey⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Disclaimer:

The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In this episode of the Pain Free Athlete Podcast, I’m joined by Joanna Chodorowska, holistic sports nutrition coach, Ironman finisher, and founder of Nutrition in Motion, for a conversation about fueling, recovery, and learning to listen to your body instead of constantly asking more of it.

Joanna shares how overwhelming exhaustion during endurance training changed her approach to food, stress, and taking care of herself. We explore her approach to everyday nutrition, starting with manageable changes rather than overhauling everything at once. We also talk about what happens when exercise becomes your only way to manage stress.

We get into the realities of endurance training, experimenting with nutrition before race day, and the mindset that food is something you have to “earn” through exercise. I also share my own experience of training without fueling properly—and continuing to push through anyway.

About Joanna:

Joanna Chodorowska (HOTERASKA) is a holistic sports nutrition coach, an expert on Gastro-Intestinal issues, inflammation, arthritis and chronic pain, and all things athlete because she is one herself! She is also a prayer minister, certified Eating Disorder Recovery Coach, and owner of Nutrition in Motion.

Joanna discovered through her own healing journey from adrenal exhaustion and arthritic hips, that the body can heal given the right tools. The keys to better health are going back to the basics: eat more real food, balance the blood sugar, and managing stress better. Get those down pat and you can enjoy more of your body and your life!

She provides more than hope for you to get back to your active life better than you thought possible. Fuel your whole body, mind, spirit and sport and discover the power of real food nutrition and anti-inflammatory diet.

Joanna's Links:
Nutrition in Motion: www.nutritioninmotion.net

Enjoyed this conversation? Follow the Pain Free Athlete Podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with the athlete in your life who has a hard time taking a rest day.

Dana’s Links:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.painfreeathletepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠10 Day Journaling Journey⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Disclaimer:

The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In this episode of the Pain Free Athlete Podcast, Dana is joined by health coach and fellow athlete Amanda Lim for an honest conversation about fueling, strength, and what happens when being an athlete starts to look different. Amanda shares how a gymnastics injury at age 12 led her into diving—and helped her discover that changing sports didn’t mean losing her athletic identity.

About Amanda:

Amanda Lim is a metabolic health coach, certified perinatal strength expert, and director of LIFT Clinic, Singapore’s first comprehensive metabolic health center. A lifelong athlete, Amanda has moved through gymnastics, springboard diving, endurance sports, CrossFit, and competitive weightlifting while managing scoliosis for nearly 30 years. She now uses strength, mobility, nutrition, and behavior change to help women build healthier and more adaptable bodies. Amanda is also the co-host and co-creator of the award-winning podcast *The Forties Formula* and is writing a book on perinatal fitness and nutrition.

Amanda's links:

Instagram: @coachamandalim

*The Forties Formula*: https://thefortiesformula.com/

*The Forties Formula* on Instagram: @thefortiesformula

LIFT Clinic: https://liftclinic.org/

Subscribe to the Pain Free Athlete Podcast for more conversations about movement, recovery, performance, and building a healthier relationship with your body.

Dana’s Links:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.painfreeathletepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠10 Day Journaling Journey⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Disclaimer:

The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.