Building Bulletproof Backs Ep 29 - The New ‘Sng’ Pain Pathway and What It Means for Back Pain Sufferers

Welcome to the 29 th episode of the Building a Bulletproof Back podcast.

To Build your own Bulletproof Back go Here

This podcast aims to empower listeners with HOPE that healing is possible when you know how. We discuss strategic tools addressing mindset, movement & emotional health.

I am your host, Marion McRae,  physiotherapist, psychedelic assisted therapist,  & movement addict on a mission to see the existing model of treating back pain evolve. 

In this round-table with Dr Guy Bewick (Univ. of Aberdeen), Prof Chih-Cheng Chen (Academia Sinica), Dr Robert Banks (Durham University), and Dr Jiann-Her Lin (Taipei Medical University Hospital), we explore research showing that chronic, muscle-type soreness, called “sng” in Taiwanese/Mandarin, runs on a separate physiological pathway from sharp, injury-type pain. The team describe how glutamate released in muscle can drive a distinct circuit, why standard painkillers often miss it, and how a newly identified glutamate receptor target could open drug development for conditions like fibromyalgia, DOMS, rheumatoid arthritis pain, and persistent pain post surgery.

Research Link - https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/24440/

What we cover

• What “sng” means culturally and clinically, and how it differs from sharp pain. 
• Evidence that proprioceptive pathways (not classic nociceptors) can carry sng-type signals.
• The muscle glutamate → unusual receptor mechanism; blocking it stopped chronic pain signalling in models. 

Key takeaways

• Different pathway, different tools: The “ache/sour” sng signal often doesn’t respond to common analgesics because it’s not the same pathway as sharp pain. New drug targets are now on the table. 
• Why some patients don’t fit the script: Post-surgery or long-standing back pain can persist as sng even when scans look fine and sharp pain has eased. 

Guests

• Dr Guy Bewick, University of Aberdeen (neuroscience of muscle receptors & glutamate signalling). 
• Prof Chih-Cheng Chen, Academia Sinica (pain biology; led the broader sng program). 
• Dr Robert Banks, Durham University (long-time collaborator on muscle spindle physiology). 
• Dr Jiann-Her Lin, Taipei Medical University Hospital (spine surgery; clinical observations of sng in patients). 

We’ve just launched a brand new fan mail feature on our podcast! Now, you can drop us a comment, share the podcast with your friends, or ask us any burning questions you have about back pain. I’ll be taking those questions and answering them over on our Bulletproof Backs YouTube channel. 

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