Remote touch: Chronic pain participants’ experiences with touch-focused audio recordings

People living with chronic pain often face barriers to accessing supportive care, including limited mobility, touch sensitivity and the emotional toll of ongoing symptoms. While touch-based interventions like massage or proprioceptive movement can support relief, they are not always accessible or appropriate. In response, ‘Audio Snacks for People Living with Chronic Pain’ explored how remotely delivered, touch-focused audio recordings might support individuals living with chronic pain, not by promising a reduction in physical symptoms but by inviting new forms of sensory engagement that could shift the felt experience of pain. Drawing on somatic approaches, including release-based dance methodologies and approaches that emphasize sensory awareness, the recordings framed touch as an embodied language, allowing participants to explore it through self-directed movement or guided mental imagery. Ten participants with chronic pain engaged with guided audio recordings designed to remotely activate their sense of touch. Through qualitative surveys, a focus group interview and creative responses, participants described feeling more connected to their bodies, supported during overwhelm and able to meet pain with greater softness and agency. Although gathered over a short period, participants’ reflections point to promising possibilities for further development.