APT (Assess, Predict, and Treat) Neck Pain Workshop

An Advanced Learning, Interpretation and Application Workshop for Providers of Patients with Spinal Pain and Disability

Sept 21-22, 2019
Marquette University, Milwaukee WI

Minimum 14 participants needed

Course Description

This innovative 2-day participatory workshop provides participants the opportunity to learn, apply, and interpret new research and clinical knowledge to optimize outcomes of traumatic and non-traumatic neck pain such as whiplash-associated disorder and myofascial pain syndrome. Two leading experts in the field, currently ranked in the top 1% of global experts in whiplash and neck pain according to expertscape.com, will guide participants towards deeper understanding of all aspects of neck pain care, from assessment through prognosis to treatment decisions and outcomes measurement. These experienced providers of continuing professional development will not only provide a balanced and accurate representation of the current state of evidence-informed practice for neck pain, but will use novel transformative teaching and learning tools to help participants make sense of complex topics and apply new knowledge in a way that leads to observable clinical impact.

The “APT” Neck Pain Workshop is broken into 3 relevant modules, each of which builds upon the previous: Assess, Predict, and Treat:

Assess: In this module, participants will get theoretical knowledge about and practical experience applying a number of novel assessment/evaluation tools for use in patients with acute or chronic neck pain. These include tools that tap each of the nociceptive/biomechanical, cognitive, affective, social, peripheral neuropathic and central neurogenic domains. Drs. Elliott and Walton will share their clinical and academic expertise in measurement science and differential diagnosis to lead participants towards a greater understanding of prudent and judicious selection, application, and interpretation of key measurement tools. A new framework that combines existing and easy to use measurement tools will be presented to help participants make sense of their patients' pain experiences and provide directions for more informed treatment planning to optimize patient outcomes. This will be a mix of lecture-style sessions with practical experience opportunities.

Predict: In this module participants will learn about the nature of chronic pain and, more importantly, the transition from acute to chronic neck pain. Clinical questions that will be answered include, but are not limited to: 1) Who develops chronic pain and who doesn't? 2) Why does chronic pain develop in some people but not others? 3) What 'risk factors' can clinicians look for to help predict and prevent the development of chronic pain? Framed within a truly integrated biopsychosocial model of chronic pain development, participants will enjoy a mixture of lecture-style and practical sessions that include relevant case studies and group discussions. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to confidently identify the 'at risk' patient, identify modifiable risk factors, discuss the nature of communicating risk and the influence of compensation/litigation on successful rehabilitation outcomes. Communication with patients, funders, and other members of the health care circle will be key components of group discussion opportunities.

Treat: In this module participants will build upon the knowledge gained from their Assess and Predict sessions to build informed treatment plans for patients with acute and chronic neck pain. New phrases such as 'plugging the biggest hole' will become common language for clinical reasoning as they learn about evidence-informed treatment approaches for addressing nociceptive/biomechanical, central neurogenic, peripheral neuropathic, cognitive, affective and social aspects of the pain experience that can be appropriately managed by rehabilitation professionals. Topics will include, but are not limited to, motor control, neuroplasticity, exercise-induced hypoalgesia, oculomotor retraining, use and benefit of manual therapies, targeted pain neurophysiology education, managing the depressed or anxious patient, and working as part of a multidisciplinary team including knowing when to refer for multimodal care. This session will include a mix of lecture-style sessions to advance knowledge and practical sessions to solidify new ideas. A focus on being 'critical consumers of knowledge' will give participants greater ability to appraise and interpret new evidence as it comes available even after completion of this course.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

  1. Describe and apply a new framework for pain assessment using a 'radar plot' as an approach to structure and interpret assessment findings
  2. Conduct and interpret a comprehensive clinical assessment of patients with acute and chronic neck pain from pathomechanical, neural, and psychosocial perspectives
  3. Critically discuss the value and caveats of diagnostic imaging for patients with traumatic neck pain
  4. Identify and describe risk factors for chronicity in patients with acute traumatic neck pain, and create an ‘Acute Injuries Prognostic Profile' that can assist with treatment planning and interdisciplinary communication
  5. Discuss and contrast the value of different intervention approaches for acute and chronic neck pain, as described in scientific literature and as indicated by the assessment and prediction frameworks

Course Schedule and Content

Course Schedule

CEU’s - 13 hours will be applied for through WPTA

 

Speaker Profiles

David (Dave) Walton (@uwo_dwalton) completed his BScPT in 1999, MSc in 2001 and PhD in 2010 from Western University (London Ontario, Canada). He has been a licensed Physical Therapist for 19 years with a clinical focus on complex chronic pain prevention and management.

He is currently Associate Professor with the School of Physical Therapy and the Health and Rehabilitation Science graduate programs at Western. He is also Director and Primary Investigator of the Pain and Quality of Life Integrative Research Lab through which he supervises 12 graduate students and several support staff. Dave is an Associate Scientist with the world-class Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Secretary of the Education Special Interest Group of the International Association for the Study of Pain and Associate Editor of the scientific Journal of Musculoskeletal Science and Practice. He has been recognized for excellence in pre- and post-professional teaching through two Faculty of Health Sciences Teaching Awards of Excellence (2007, 2010), a nomination for the UWO Marilyn Robinson Teaching Award (2015) and the Canadian Physiotherapy Association’s National Mentorship Award (2014). A champion of transformative learning, Dave is a certified Facilitator for the Instructional Skills Workshop teaching development program through which he supports post-secondary educators in development of their teaching skills. He is also a productive researcher, having secured over $800,000 in research funding over the past 8 years, authored or co-authored over 75 scholarly research articles mostly in the field of neck pain assessment and prognosis, delivered over 60 presentations at national and international conferences, and authored 4 book chapters including two in the just-released ‘bible’ of MSK therapy ‘Grieve’s Modern Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy’ 4th edition that focus on whiplash and good clinical research. He is the first person at Western to simultaneously hold the titles of Faculty Scholar and Teaching Fellow.

The roles of which he’s most proud are as husband of a fantastic wife and father of two awesome girls. He is a die-hard fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, American football, barbecue cuisine and the harmonica.

James (Jim) Elliott (@ElliottJSyd) completed his PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia (UQ) in 2007 and a post-doctoral fellowship (2010) at UQ’s Centre for Advanced Imaging. He is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney and the Northern Sydney Local Health District (The Kolling Research Institute). Prior to relocating to Sydney, Jim was a tenure-track Associate Professor in the Feinberg School of Medicine and remains an Adjunct Professor as well as the principal investigator of The Neuromuscular Imaging Research Lab (@NIRL_NU). Jim is also an Honorary Senior Fellow at UQ and an Affiliate Professor at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland.

He has been successful as an early career investigator as in evidence of over $4 million in research funding, over 100 peer-reviewed publications, and numerous speaking invitations at interdisciplinary conferences on a national and international level. The primary focus of Jim’s laboratory is to characterize the underlying neurophysiological and biological mechanisms for poor functional recovery following spinal trauma, in particular, traumatic injuries following a motor vehicle collision (MVC). Broad applications of his work include preventing, diagnosing, and treating neuromuscular related pain and its sequelae. To do this, he utilizes structural and advanced imaging applications to quantify the temporal development of altered spinal cord anatomy and whole-body skeletal muscle degeneration as potential markers of poor functional outcomes.

Jim currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for the journal, Spine and is a Board of Director for the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. Jim played professional baseball for the San Diego Padres (1990-1992), worked in major league baseball operations for the Colorado Rockies (1993-1996) and was recently inducted into the University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (2014). In full transparency, Jim admits to needing medication for his life-long love of the Chicago Cubs.