Presented by: Dr. Norman Hoffman
A 4-part series discussing the neurologic basis and effective treatment protocols for the most common conditions that present to clinicians’ offices – chronic pain conditions. Scholars will master everything from chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pelvic pain, neurogenic bladder, chronic TMJ, and more. Recognized by the NIH and US Congress and an emerging set of co-aggregate disorders with common central mechanisms, you will gain deep insights into identifying, examining, diagnosing, and treating this diverse but connected group of conditions.
Mastery of Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions Course Objectives
- Provide participants with skills to understand, diagnose, and treat Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions in clinical practice for improved clinical success.
- Establish a compendium of history, examination and assessment tools specific to such conditions, using a combination of lecture, and skill demonstration with supervised, hands-on practicums.
- Participants will complete the course with “world-class” knowledge encompassing the depth and breadth of the current research base in this field.
- Complete formative and summative evaluations to demonstrate skills and knowledge competence.
Topics:
- Define CSDs
- Develop the concept of Chronic Overlapping Pain Syndromes
- Includes: fibromyalgia(FM), myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome(ME/CFS), migraines, Gulf War Illness (GWI), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), myofascial pain syndrome (MFPS), neurogenic bladder and chronic pelvic pain (CPP).
- Discuss co-morbidities between syndromes:
- Chronic pain, fatigue, digestive symptoms, sleep disturbances, hormonal disturbances, blood sugar imbalances, sensory sensitivities to light, sound, smell and light touch, etc
- Define FM with an emphasis on lack of clinical biomarkers on imaging and bloodwork
- Emerging biomarkers #1
- MRI imaging changes in chronic pain
- fMRI and functional connectivity
- Need to discuss functional brain networks
- Default Mode Network
- Sensorimotor Network
- Salience Network
- Central Executive Network
- others
- Comparison with MSK pain such as osteoarthritis
- Discuss the use of qEEG biofeedback as a mean of network reorganization
- Discuss outcome assessment tools for FM and chronic pain
- Need to discuss functional brain networks
