Target Audience

Healthcare providers.

Purpose

The goal of this 6-week online course is to teach clinicians how to integrate Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) into their clinical practice. Current best evidence has shown that neuroscience educational strategies utilizing neurobiology and neurophysiology can reduce pain, increase function, reduce fear and catastrophization, improve movement and change cognitions, and brain activation in people during pain experiences. This class will cover the evolution of PNE, explain why neuroscience education is needed in physical therapy, and teach the foundations of pain neurobiology and neurophysiology. More importantly, participants will learn how to apply and implement PNE within their practice for patients with acute, sub-acute, and chronic pain.

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the need for pain neuroscience education in their clinical practice. 
2. Identify factors in their current patient population that may contribute to driving a patient toward the fear or recovery pathway in the Fear-Avoidance Model by Vlayen, et al. 
3. Discuss the latest evidence for pain neuroscience education. 
4. Identify a clinical scenario in their practice where they had to adjust the level of education to meet the patient/client where they were at and describe how they adjusted their communication. 
5. Describe in words what they will say to a patient to teach them that pain is an output rather than an input using the Mature Organism Model from Louis Gifford. 
6. Articulate an empathetic discussion with a patient/client related to how a "threat" or stressor can influence the pain experience when provided a clinical scenario. 
7. Outline a brief clinical case scenario of a current or past patient/client in which they believe the issue is/was likely driven by a change in ion channel distribution. 
8. Explain to a patient/client the role of ion channels in their pain experience. 
9. Explain to a patient/client how/why pain spreads. 
10. Explain to a patient/client that tissue issues are only part of their pain experience. 
11. Discuss how to safeguard their PNE story/message to make sure their patient/client doesn't jump to the conclusion that their pain is made up. 
12. List potential strategies to implement therapeutic neuroscience into clinic practice regarding time, staff, billing, and traditional therapeutic treatments. 
13. Describe to their patient/client how pacing and graded exposure is the key to recovery when provided a patient scenario. 
14. Extend key concepts of pain neuroscience education to clinical practice with the use of at least one metaphor shared in class.

Course Modules

Speaker

Adriann Louw, PT, PhD
Vice President of Faculty Experience, Evidence In Motion

Dr. Louw earned his undergraduate, master’s degree, and PhD in physiotherapy from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches pain science. He is a senior faculty member, pain science director, and vice-president for Evidence in Motion.

Dr. Louw has taught throughout the US and internationally for 30 years at numerous national and international manual therapy, pain science, and medical conferences. He has authored and co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed articles related to spinal disorders and pain science.

Full biography.