Target Audience

Healthcare professionals.

Description

This course is designed to update attendees on the latest evidence and clinical application of pain neuroscience education (PNE) for patients in pain. Current best evidence has shown that neuroscience educational strategies utilizing neurobiology and neurophysiology can reduce pain, increase function, reduce fear and catastrophizing, and improve movement and change cognitions and brain activation during pain experiences. PNE changes patients' beliefs regarding their pain, thus reducing the threat of pain. This class will discuss the evolution of PNE, why PNE is needed in medicine and rehabilitation, and, more importantly, the clinical application and implementation of PNE for patients with acute, sub-acute, and chronic pain.

Special features include metaphors, images, examples, and case studies utilizing PNE in patients experiencing pain. In addition, the class will cover the emerging clinical concept of PNE+ – PNE plus various behavioral strategies to ease pain, improve function, and obtain goals. PNE+ covered in this class includes exercise, pacing, graded exposure, sleep hygiene, goal setting, coping strategies, meditation and mindfulness, and more. This course will teach attendees how cognitive (PNE) strategies and the various behavioral techniques (PNE+) fit within the current best-evidence approach for treating pain, especially chronic pain.

Finally, the course will explore various important clinical application issues on billing, time management, documentation, multi- and interdisciplinary approaches, and more. This will enhance the attendee’s ability to implement PNE in various clinical settings. This class is a must for all healthcare providers dealing with patients in pain.

Educational Practice Gap

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study (2015), 1 in 4 people struggle with some form of persistent pain. Historically, the treatment of persistent pain has been deeply rooted in a biomedical model focusing on tissues and tissue injury (Houben, Ostelo, et al.2005; Henrotin, Cedraschi, et al. 2006; Weiner 2008). Not only have these models shown limited efficacy in decreasing pain and disability, but they may have increased fear in patients, which in turn may increase their pain (Greene, Appel, et al. 2005; Morr, Shanti, et al. 2010). Current best evidence has shown that pain neuroscience educational (PNE) strategies utilizing neurobiology and neurophysiology can reduce pain, increase function, reduce fear and catastrophizing, and improve movement and change cognitions and brain activation during pain experiences (Louw 2016). PNE changes patient's beliefs regarding their pain, thus reducing the threat of pain. This class will discuss the evolution of PNE, why PNE is needed in medicine and rehabilitation, and, more importantly, the clinical application and implementation of PNE for patients with acute, sub-acute, and chronic pain.

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the latest evidence for pain neuroscience education.
2. Generalize the concepts of pain neuroscience education to clinical practice using at least one metaphor shared in class.
3. List at least half of the output systems discussed in class and their response in a patient experiencing chronic pain.
4. List potential strategies to implement pain neuroscience into clinic practice regarding time, staff, billing, and traditional treatments.
5. Outline a treatment plan for a patient with chronic pain based on output system dysfunctions with correct pain neurophysiological reasoning behind the treatment with the information provided in the course.