Deep understanding of pain science is necessary for physios.
Normalizing sensitivity and pain experiences aids in management.
Pain science education dispels misconceptions and enhances patient understanding.
Individualized manual therapy must align with patient needs and preferences.
Deep dives
Listening to the Patient: Key to Understanding Needs
Listening to patients is crucial in determining their needs and appropriate treatment. By paying attention to their stories and experiences, clinicians can uncover vital information that guides the best course of action. Understanding the patient's narrative, concerns, and history allows for tailored care that addresses their specific situation effectively.
Normalizing Sensitivity through Experience
Helping patients normalize sensitivity and understand their pain experiences is essential. By using touch to facilitate discovery and experiential learning, patients can grasp the connection between brain sensitivity and pain perception. Normalizing and desensitizing through manual therapy adds another dimension to pain management, allowing for a comprehensive approach to reducing sensitivity and improving function.
Pain Science Education: Addressing Misconceptions
Pain science education plays a transformative role in dispelling misconceptions and providing accurate explanations for pain experiences. By challenging traditional beliefs and structural diagnoses, patients can gain a deeper understanding of pain as a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors. Educating patients on brain-body connections and the role of past experiences in shaping pain perception promotes a more informed approach to managing persistent pain.
Appropriate Use of Manual Therapy: Tailoring Treatment to Individual Needs
While manual therapy can be beneficial in certain cases, its effectiveness depends on individual patient needs and responses. Engaging in patient-centered care involves assessing the patient's history with manual therapy, considering its long-term impact, and aligning treatment with desired outcomes. By utilizing manual therapy judiciously and being attuned to patient preferences, clinicians can ensure that interventions are both effective and well-suited to each individual's pain management journey.
Importance of Pain Education in Patient Care
Explaining pain concepts and providing pain education is fundamental in patient care. Understanding how pain works and addressing misconceptions can lead to better outcomes. It is crucial to strike a balance in the amount of information provided to patients to avoid overwhelming them.
Significance of Recognizing Red Flags in Patient Assessment
Identifying red flags in patient assessments is essential for further investigations. Understanding structural, biomechanical, anatomical, pathological, and psychological aspects plays a critical role. Addressing patients' emotional reasoning and providing reassurance through imaging when necessary is vital in patient care.
Challenges and Successes in Treating Chronic Pain Patients
Treating chronic pain patients involves complex journeys with varying levels of success. Each patient is unique, requiring individualized approaches. Monitoring progress through objective outcome measures, functional improvements, and cognitive changes within the first few sessions is crucial. Striking a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical application enhances patient care.
Persistent pain can be a challenge, but also enjoyable to treat. In this episode of the Physio Edge podcast, Mike Stewart and I focus on specific examples and case studies of patients with complex or persistent pain, how you may approach persistent pain patients, explain their pain, use metaphors and explanations so they understand it, and help guide them through the recovery process.
Mike and I get into the details on:
Why Physios need a deep understanding of pain science
How does the “bio” part come into bio-pscyho-social
How can we identify if the patient needs pain education, further investigations, a biological approach eg specific exercise
How can you incorporate pain science into the treatment of patients with acute pain
Mike’s top tips when working with persistent pain
Specific case studies of patients with persistent and complex back pain, and how Mike has worked with these patients, including their presentation, beliefs, Mike’s language used in their session, activity modification and results achieved with these patients
How to develop our teaching skills to achieve the best results with our patients
