Summary: Fifteen RMTs from British Columbia attended the San Diego Pain Summit. This year’s summit focused on the patient experience and included presentations from patients and leading researchers and practitioners (topics included below).
The annual event brings together leading researchers and practitioners to share the latest developments in pain research and best practices. We were able to meet some of our pain science heroes and even managed to go for a bike ride to a beachside taco stand!
Wendy and Jenn at the San Diego Pain Summit; BC RMTs represent
We heard from patients and researchers who talked about the importance of the language we use, and about the limitations of traditional approaches such as the zero to ten (0-10) pain scale.
Presentations included:
Dr. Antonio Damasio: About the physiology of feeling
Sharna Prasad: As providers what we say matters...matters a lot
Dr. Mark Bishop: You, them, us: What you expect is what you get
Shelly Prosko: Insight into compassion: The foundation of pain care
Dr. Karen Davis: Are we ready to translate research into practice? How brain imaging studies of chronic pain are being used to develop personalized pain management treatment plans
Tim Beames: My experience of my body is what I say it is
Kathryn Schopmeyer: I am not a number: Understanding and improving pain assessment mandates in healthcare
Alison Sim, Dr. Bronnie Thompson, Keith Meldrum and Kira Stoops: A patient panel: Pain from the patient’s perspective
Summary: Massage Therapists are increasingly recognizing the importance of providing trauma-informed care, however it’s not taught in most massage programs. This article lists our top 5 recommendations for learning about trauma-informed care and how to apply it in your practice. There is no regulation for using the phrase “trauma-informed”
Massage therapy can reduce anxiety, depression, pain and improve quality and duration of sleep. Improvements in sleep, mood and pain levels can create windows of opportunity where you feel better and can move and socialize more.
Summary: Trauma-informed massage therapy is an approach to practice and not a massage technique. It’s built upon four principles: trauma awareness, safety and trust, collaborative choice and connection, and strength-based skill-building. Registered Massage Therapists working in this area don’t have to be experts in trauma, but can respond
With great respect and gratitude, we practice massage therapy on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples –Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) And Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.