Understanding Pain: Reducing Perceived Threat by Changing Perception
Course Description
Understanding pain science is a critical aspect of successful patient care. However, pain science is often too focused on the science and not directly applicable to helping your patients get better. This course will enhance the treatment you provide by helping you better understand pain as well as how to talk to your patients about it in a way they understand, embrace and do not fear.
This course dives deep into what pain is and why we have it, and will provide you with evidence-based strategies on how to use pain neuroscience education to improve patient outcomes. We'll teach metaphors and stories that help nudge patients in the right direction, depending on their readiness to make a behavior change. We'll also look at neurodynamics (movement of the nervous system) and how to treat a sensitive nerve. Finally, we'll discuss strategies to talk patients down from the "osteoarthritis/disc pathology cliff" when they are fixated on these issues and ignoring what can improve their pain and function.
You'll leave this course with the ability to immediately apply the information and elevate your approach to treating patients' pain.
Top Takeaways
- Learning what causes a pain experience and how to explain it to your patients using evidence-based, patient-appropriate language that improves outcomes.
- Understanding how to identify and treat sensitive nerves using neurodynamic principles.
- Gaining a deeper understanding of osteoarthritis and disc pathologies, along with how to explain these issues to a suffering patient in a manner that improves their clinical outcome.
Course Objectives
At the completion of this course, participants will be able to...
1. Correctly and independently explain the difference between actual pain and perceived pain.
2. Correctly and independently explain how a pain experience is generated.
3. Correctly and independently explain why we cannot depend on imaging alone to guide our clinical judgement.
4. State 5 metaphors used to explain pain to patients.
5. Correctly identify the stages of behavior change as well as how to guide a person through them.
6. Correctly and independently explain both osteoarthritis and disc pathologies and how they relate to each other.
Course Instructors
Karl Buche
PT, DPT, CIMT, CIDN, TPS, OCS
Karl completed his undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from Michigan Technological University in 2012, then went on to graduate with his doctorate in physical therapy from Central Michigan University in 2016. He works at Probility Physical Therapy, which is based in southeast Michigan, and is the director of the Pinckney Clinic. After obtaining his CIMT credentials in 2019, he began teaching and assisting courses for GLS, with his main area of expertise being pain neuroscience. He believes in an eclectic treatment approach, including many styles of manual therapy, pain education, and individualized exercise. He cares deeply about the manner in which we communicate with our patients, and loves teaching others how to minimize nocebo effects during patient interactions. He lives in Chelsea, MI with his wife, Catherine, and puppy, Olive. He enjoys treating all orthopedic dysfunctions, and loves to incorporate breathwork into his practice.
Course Outline
Saturday
Breakfast
Lecture: What is Pain?
Lecture: Basics of the Nervous System
Lecture: Pain Neuroscience Education
Lecture: The Transtheoretical Model and Motivational Interviewing
Lecture: Neurodynamics
Lunch (on your own)
Lab: Neurodynamics and Treatment of Neural Containers
Lecture: Talking a Patient off of the Osteoarthritis Cliff
Lecture: Talking a Patient down from the Disc Pathology Cliff
Review: Pain Neuroscience Education Metaphors and Neurodynamics
Adjourn
