VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM ON PAIN

[Diane]

VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM ON PAIN

The Canadian Physiotherapy Association and its newly formed Pain Science Division are pleased to offer you a virtual symposium on pain in four parts throughout the month of November. This is the first "webinar" series in CPA's history, very exciting for everyone involved. Registrants will have access to each module for a week, to view as many times as desired, from every possible angle, take notes and write down questions. The fourth portion will be a live, interactive teleconference, where you may pose your questions and have them answered by a panel comprised of pain division members.

Here is a link to a full description and registration: Virtual Symposium on Pain. This is a non-profit event - proceeds will fold into funding future events of a similar sort to enhance our profession overall.

Participate on your own time, at your own pace, and best of all – from the comfort of your own living room.

Just like a traditional face-to-face conference, this unique online event will feature interactive learning sessions highlighting the most recent advances in pain science, and provide a forum for an energizing exchange of ideas focused on the treatment of patients with painful conditions.

This event will be relevant to all physiotherapists working with people with painful conditions. Sessions will be of particular interest to those working in multidisciplinary, return-to-work and pain management programs. Sessions are designed at an introductory to intermediate level.

How does it work?
By participating in three self-paced, interactive workshops throughout November, participants will be introduced to the vocabulary, evidence base, and current best practices in pain management. Each workshop will include one formal presentation, followed by a combination of reflective and collaborative exercises and online discussion with fellow participants, allowing you to apply your learning and explore the state of the art with colleagues across Canada and around the world.

Workshop 1: The Birth of the Pain Experience
with Dave Walton
(Begins November 3)

Workshop 2: How Pain Becomes Persistent
with Debbie Patterson
(Begins November 10)

Workshop 3: Assessment and Management Trends
with Neil Pearson
(Begins November 17)

Synthesis and Panel Discussion (Live) (Date TBC)


The Birth of the Pain Experience
Speaker: Dave Walton, PT, MSc, FCAMT, PhD(c)

This workshop will provide a broad perspective of the origins of pain. The purpose of pain and models which allow a circumspect view of pain will be discussed. Details of nociceptive physiology, and the processing of nociceptive input to the central nervous system assist participants in understanding how this system changes when pain persists, and why recent trends in treatment are being proven effective.

Learning objectives

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Understand the importance of pain as necessary for survival.
2. Describe the most common pathways through which an intense stimulus goes from electrical signal to pain.
3. Describe the various junctions along these pathways at which the nociceptive signal can be modified.
4. Have a framework from which to conceptualize appropriate modifications to standard physiotherapy intervention when working with the patient with a persistent pain problem.

How Pain Becomes Persistent
Speaker: Debbie Patterson, P & OT Dip.

This workshop will summarize some of the current understanding of sensitization of the pain mechanism. It will address both the periphery and the central nervous system. These are essential for gaining a more complete picture of the patient with a persistent pain condition. Although mechanisms of sensitization can vary between musculoskeletal, visceral, trigeminal and neuropathic pain, the general principles are relevant for clinical practice.

Learning objectives

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Understand a more complete presentation of the complexity of persistent pain.
2. Plan an appropriate treatment programme based on a current understanding of a persistent pain condition.

Assessment and Management Trends
Speaker: Neil Pearson, MSc, BScPT, PA-BPHE, Cert MDT, CYT

This workshop will address how a physiotherapist can apply current understanding of pain science to clinical practice. The focus will be on orthopaedic practice; however, the assessment techniques/tools and the management trends discussed will be relevant to a broad range of physiotherapy practice areas.

Learning objectives

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Effectively recognize and assess the patient with persistent pain.
2. Use the assessment findings as measurements of treatment success.
3. Recognize how to apply aspects of current management trends into clinical practice, and when to collaborate with other health care professionals in the management of a person with persistent pain.

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We are all involved in dealing with pain, whether we treat patients who have it or have family members with it or have it ourselves. This series is open to anyone interested in learning more about pain science - primarily it is directed toward working PTs, but everyone from any walk of life is cordially invited. The Pain Science division looks forward to seeing broad worldwide participation in this event - there is no upper limit to registration, so please feel free to pass this invitation to your colleagues and friends.

GO HERE TO REGISTER for this unique learning opportunity.


Thank you!

Diane Jacobs PT
Executive member of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association Pain Science Division
and also Co-Administrator at www.SomaSimple.com

[Diane]

Hi there, just want to make sure everyone can see this.

[Diane]

A little update - as the Canadian dollar has slid to be worth only about $.77 in the last few weeks, this symposium becomes a hot deal for anyone who may have initially thought it was a bit pricey. Guess what? It's now on "sale"! The price hasn't changed, but the cost certainly has - it's as if the cost were reduced by 23%!

So, sign up - everyone is welcome and there is no shortage of virtual "space."

[Mary C]

Except for us Canadians.

Does anyone know how many have registered so far?

[Diane]

Except for us Canadians.

True. It's cheaper for absolutely everyone else.

Does anyone know how many have registered so far?

Registrations are coming in steadily, but there is no shortage of "room," so no cut-off.

[Adiemusfree]

Diane, just thought you'd like to know that the Pain Management Centre team from Burwood, Christchurch, NZ are in the process of registering - so news has reached the nether regions of planet Earth!

[Diane]

That's wonderful Bronnie!
They likely already know a majority of what will be in the webinars, but it probably never hurts to see the familiar from a slightly different angle or from a different person. Chances are they'll have never seen it organized this way before.

[Adiemusfree]

anything to get our Health Board to PAY for something educational!!

[Diane]

I've been logging in all week to the Virtual Symposium on Pain discussion forum, and am blown away by all the activity it has generated in less than a week.

Thanks to Chett and Rick from CPA, it is well organized and user-friendly. Alas I cannot bring you a link to it - only registrants to the symposium have access. (Here is a little report I did a few days ago about the symposium, its discussion board and the PSD.)

So far, five days into only the first workshop, there are 160 registered, about 40 active members, over 100 posts on several dozen threads. About a quarter of the threads are personal intros, and the rest are on topic re: the first workshop, "birth of the pain experience" and a case study Dave cooked up. Dave is doing a great job of fielding the questions and interacting with the participants. It's the first chance I've had to see him in action as a teacher, which is part of what he does for a living in London Ont.

I think this is a remarkable fulmination in very short order, of cordial interaction among virtual PT strangers around the issue of PTs and pain. There are registrants from all around the world.

There is STILL time to register - I think Sunday (tomorrow) is the final day.

[Diane]

It's official - the largest number of registrants ever for any telecommunications course hosted /organized by CPA, have registered for the VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM ON PAIN!!

(I'm not sure, but I may have heard something somewhere about having won a toaster or something... )

Thanks to everyone from here who is registered. We're halfway through the second week now. I think the organizers decided to just leave registration open. It doesn't really make any sense to close it - because it's online people can come and sit with the material, take notes, go away, come back. log in, and it will ask if you want to pick up where you left off! If you do fine, if you want to start somewhere else, fine.. it's really very accommodating.

I have to say, Deb has done a good job organizing large amounts of material into a great outline. I never knew so much about peripheral sensitization as opposed to central sensitization as opposed to efferent sensitization, and psychosocial issues/yellow flags. It's really really well done.

The discussion forum in the symposium is well attended and read. Everyone is busily introducing themselves and bringing forward their ideas, presenting cases. Nice work everyone.

If you are reading about this for the first time ever and are interested in registering, here is the link.

VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM ON PAIN REGISTRATION LINK
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[Diane]

OK, it's official!
This symposium is going to be repeated in May. Here is a new link to new, updated REGISTRATION. The price remains the same, an unbelievably cheap deal as the Canadian dollar is currently in the river at only 76 cents US.

The fourth live session will be in person this time (instead of by teleconference), at the National Congress in Calgary.

Apparently the November dates simply didn't suit a lot of people - they asked for it to be held again, and CPA agreed. So, ...... see you in Calgary!

[Bas Asselbergs]

Are you going?

[Diane]

Um, yes. I'm going.

[Erica]

I've registered- but for some reason it is asking me for a CPA id number -which I don't have. And it won't let me into the symposium. Has anyone else had that problem? I sent an email to the CPA but as it is sunday-I figure I won't get anything back today. And of course I wanted to check it out today! Oh well...
Erica

[Diane]

Huh. Weird. Sorry about that Erica.

Maybe CPA has restricted registrants this time to Canadians only - the wrap-up session is to be live at Congress instead of online like last time, so maybe they figure people outside Canada won't be able to be present for it, so they are excluding foreign PTs for this run of the symposium.

Doesn't hurt to ask though - it could have just been an (annoying for you) oversight.

You could try submitting your American ID number, just in case that works...

[Erica]

Thanks Diane! They actually have a members and a non-members rate so I should be OK. Must have been an oversight. Have sent off emails to Chett as well. I tried my APTA id but alas no go. The last day will be available for download for people who cannot make the live event. I love the site-they have some really great courses and look highly organized. I am impressed that the Shirley Sahrmann is going to be doing some courses up there.
Will let you know when I can get into the symposium.
Erica

[Diane]

I am impressed that the Shirley Sahrmann is going to be doing some courses up there.

She's been the darling of CPA for about 4 or 5 years. At least. A repeat visitor.
Even though she still teaches that pain comes from joints, then manually guides correction of posture to (ostensibly) deal with it.
Argh.

Will let you know when I can get into the symposium.

You can introduce yourself on the VSP discussion forum.

[Erica]

Diane,
I just finished workshop 1-BRAVO! One of the most organized, well done, and highly interactive presentation I have ever seen. Kudos to CPA.
Chett hooked me up with a user id today. I can't yet post on to the forum as my id has to be "approved".
I look forward to the other ones! Anybody who has not seen this yet is missing a good one!
Erica

[Diane]

I just finished workshop 1-BRAVO! One of the most organized, well done, and highly interactive presentation I have ever seen. Kudos to CPA.
Chett hooked me up with a user id today. I can't yet post on to the forum as my id has to be "approved".
I look forward to the other ones! Anybody who has not seen this yet is missing a good one!
Erica

Glad you are enjoying it Erica.