Pain Science Education to Better Serve Our Patients

Thomas Stith, DPT, OCS and Heather Walton DPT, OCS recently attended a weekend course taught by Brian Freund, DPT, MBA, CSMT. This course was designed to educate Physical Therapists on the latest evidence and clinical application of Therapeutic Neuroscience Education (TNE) for patients in pain. Current best evidence has shown that neuroscience educational strategies utilizing neurobiology and neurophysiology are able to reduce pain, increase function, reduce fear and catastrophization, improve movement and change cognitions and brain activation during pain experiences. This class discussed the evolution of TNE, why neuroscience education is needed in physical therapy and, more importantly, the clinical application and implementation of TNE for patients with acute, sub-acute and chronic pain.