Course Description:

Chronic pain is a disruptive multidimensional experience associated with numerous key changes in brain structure and function. These changes include a decrease in gray matter and white matter integrity, alterations in neurotransmitters, glial cell activation, and in particular impact affective and somatosensory processing and descending inhibition of pain. Through a number of maladaptive neuroplastic changes, the brain essentially transforms into what can be considered the “pain brain.” The good news for chronic pain patients is that evidence suggests that these structural and functional pain brain changes are modifiable and even reversible. Providing patients with the right treatments, tools, and strategies to counteract these maladaptive plastic changes while increasing their ability to learn and adapt by boosting positive neuroplastic changes becomes a winning formula for long-term success in minimizing the experience of chronic pain. In essence, this approach empowers patients to take back control of their health and wellbeing. This course will demonstrate how to create multidisciplinary strategies for pain treatment that lead to lasting adaptive changes to the pain brain. A variety of different treatment approaches will be reviewed, including mindfulness, exercise, graded motor imagery, pain reprocessing, virtual reality, breath work, social connectivity, and therapeutic creativity.