I'm delighted to welcome Dr Deepak Ravindran to this edition of Connecting Conversations. It's a real privilege to have him share his story and insights with the Social Prescribing Network, particularly as his work resonates so strongly with me on a personal level. As someone living with hypermobility, persistent pain, and chronic fatigue as a result, I understand first-hand the complexity of managing long-term conditions that don't fit neatly into traditional medical models. Deepak's approach speaks directly to that lived reality, offering not just clinical expertise, but genuine hope.
Deepak is a leading voice in reimagining how we understand and respond to chronic pain. As a consultant in pain medicine and lifestyle medicine, he has spent over two decades challenging conventional, medication-led approaches, advocating instead for a more holistic, person-centred model of care that aligns closely with the principles of social prescribing.
At the heart of his work is a powerful shift in perspective: recognising pain not simply as a physical symptom, but as a complex, whole-person experience shaped by biological, psychological, and social factors. Drawing on his thought leadership, particularly through his widely engaged LinkedIn posts (definitely worth a look and connection), he highlights the limitations of relying solely on medication and clinical interventions. Instead, he champions a broader, integrated approach that reflects the realities of people living with chronic pain.
This is where his work connects so naturally with social prescribing. Deepak consistently advocates for lifestyle and community-based interventions, such as movement, sleep, stress management, and meaningful social connection as essential components of pain management. These are not peripheral supports, but central to improving outcomes and enabling people to live well.
Crucially, his work is rooted in empowerment. He reframes patients as active participants in their care, equipping them with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to better understand and manage their pain. In doing so, he mirrors the ethos of social prescribing, supporting people to take greater control of their health, connect with their communities, and build resilience over time.
In bringing together clinical insight and community-based solutions, Deepak's work offers a compelling vision for the future of pain management, one that feels both deeply human and much needed.
Beyond the Pill: Why Social Prescribing Might Be the Most Under-Rated Pain Treatment We Have
by Dr Deepak Ravindran
If you live with persistent pain—or care for people who do—you'll know this uncomfortable truth: the pain is rarely just about tissue, joints, or nerves. Over time, pain shrinks lives. People stop moving, stop socialising, stop believing their future can be any different from their present.
And yet, much of traditional mainstream medicine's offering is more drugs, more scans and more appointments. All the while, the prevalence and burden of pain continue to increase. It impacts society and is often the main reason for workplace related time off and is a huge impact on economic productivity of any society. Chronic pain, alongside diabetes and anxiety contributes to most of the observed health inequalities and is projected to increase at a faster rate in the 10% most deprived areas by 2040. Most of these issues are going to be in primary care.
Persistent pain is typically managed in primary care and there is an urgent need to revisit the model of care, keeping in mind sustainability and scale and most importantly focussing on prevention, public health education, early intervention particularly in the most deprived areas while keeping it community based.
Social prescribing could be one of the newer options. Social prescribing does not mean denying the pain—but offering the option to expand the person's world again. While they often support people with various long-term conditions, I see a much bigger future and opportunity for them in supporting people with persistent pain particularly.
Having seen social prescribing in action and interacted with social prescribers in my local community and within my coaching programme, here are the most surprising, counter-intuitive, and impactful lessons I've learned—and what I believe will make the biggest difference to its future.
1. Social Prescribing Doesn't "Treat" Pain — It Rebuilds Lives
This is the first mental shift that matters.
Social prescribing isn't designed to switch pain off. Its real power lies elsewhere: restoring identity, agency, and belonging—the very things persistent pain slowly erodes.
When pain dominates, life becomes narrow. People define themselves by appointments, limitations, and symptoms. Social prescribing gently widens that lens. A walking group. A swimming session. An art class. Benefits advice. Volunteering. Not distractions—but reconnections.
This aligns deeply with modern pain neuroscience. Pain is not just biological; it's an emergent sensation/emotion predicted and shaped by threat, meaning, isolation, and loss of role. Social prescribing works by addressing these amplifiers.
It provides that much needed "safe space". It allows people to experiment with life again—without judgement, pressure, or the expectation to be "fixed".
2. The Evidence is growing on Paper—but Strong in Real Life
Here's the paradox we as HCPs often struggle with.
Formal guideline bodies have been cautious. Traditional evidence hierarchies struggle with interventions that are relational, contextual, and personalised. Randomised controlled trials don't easily capture belonging and I am not sure the paradigms are up to scratch.
And yet, real-world evaluations repeatedly suggest reductions in GP appointments and fewer A&E attendances in high-service users with improvements in wellbeing, confidence, and activity levels. However, these are not consistently noted nor are they maintained.
In some pain-clinic pilots, healthcare utilisation didn't fall significantly. There is an important insight in this type of reporting. A randomised trial will only evaluate social prescribing against control. Expecting social prescribing to single-handedly reduce system demand misunderstands pain. Service use is influenced by fear, trauma history, deprivation, and access—not just symptoms. Which is why the paradigm of comparing one variable against a control isn't suitable for some of these subjective, relational experiences.
The real win may be better lives, not just fewer appointments. And we need to start measuring what actually matters to people with pain: confidence, participation, and meaning.
3. The social prescriber IS the Intervention
Social prescribing does not work because of leaflets or referral codes. It works because of people.
Again and again, patients describe social prescribers by their experience with them, and I think the therapeutic relationship is a critical piece. In pain management, this matters enormously. Many patients feel dismissed or disbelieved. The social prescriber often could be the first person who doesn't rush to fix, question, or explain away.
From a pain perspective, this sense of psychological safety reduces threat—and threat fuels pain. Social prescribers don't replace clinicians; they complement them by holding space that medicine often can't.
4. Sustainability Is the challenge (but there could be workarounds)
Here's the uncomfortable bit. Social prescribing is often celebrated but funding has been patchy and not sustained.
Any service employing this workforce frequently absorbs hidden workload: induction, supervision, governance, emotional support. Community and voluntary organisations face rising demand without guaranteed funding. Postcode-based commissioning creates inequity.
If we want social prescribing to last, three things must change:
- Integrated funding across healthcare and community sectors
- Recognition of supervision and emotional labour
- Long-term commissioning, not short pilots
Without this, we risk burning out the very systems meant to reduce burnout elsewhere. Is there a will to do this? It remains to be seen
5. Pain-Informed Social Prescribing Is the Future
One of the most exciting developments is the move towards pain-literate social prescribing with pain coaching skills.
When social prescribers understand modern pain science—how stress, fear, movement, sleep, identity, and safety interact—they become vastly more effective. They stop inadvertently reinforcing fear ("be careful") and instead support confidence and pacing. If they have lived experience, then potentially that is an even bigger advantage.
You could create hybrid roles such as social prescribers with pain health-coaching skills. This is particularly powerful in persistent pain, where behaviour change needs compassion, not compliance. From my perspective, this is where social prescribing truly earns its place in pain management—aligned with education, self-management, and recovery-focused care, as increasingly championed across services within NHS England.
Engaging More People: Public, GPs, and Communities
If social prescribing is to scale, engagement must widen. Different groups need different reassurances. The public need to see this as essential support while clinicians need to see it as a complementary approach rather than replacement. Ultimately communities and organizations need to see this a social community asset worth creating.
Language matters. Social prescribing isn't "soft". It's sophisticated, human, and grounded in what drives recovery.
A Different Kind of Prescription
Treating persistent pain with medication alone is like holding up a tent with a single pole. Social prescribing provides the guy ropes—connection, purpose, stability—that stop the whole structure collapsing.
Pain may still be there. But life no longer has to orbit around it.
The real question is no longer "Does social prescribing work?"
It's this:
Can we afford not to build healthcare systems that help people belong again, that help people hurt less and that help healing?
About Deepak:
Part of the world I live: Reading, Berkshire UK
Occupation: Doctor -- Consultant in Pain and Lifestyle Medicine
What makes You well? Family and friends and connection and a purpose
Why is social prescribing important? It can provide meaning, community, and agency, addressing the root causes of pain and poor health rather than just the symptoms.
Your favourite nature based space? My nearby park..Lily Hill park in Berkshire
Your favourite music? Bollywood disco numbers
Your favourite pastime? Reading Wodehouse novels
If you had one wish for social prescribing what would it be? That it is something that can be prescribed because everyone has the knowledge and that it is something that can be part of a medical school curriculum.
What are your leadership tips for others who want to set up social prescribing projects? Start small, listen more, build relationships, and let communities co‑design solutions with you
Which one person has most influenced you and why? My teacher back in my medical school when he introduced me to the concept of salutogenesis
Any advice for others when working in this space with communities? Show up ready to learn, be humble, listen a lot, honour lived experience, and prioritise long‑term trust over short‑term outcomes
