It is painfully obvious- Obesity and chronic pain wreak havoc upon the health and well-being of far too many individuals in the United States and around the world. Both issues strip individuals of happiness, self-fulfillment, functional ability, and overall quality of life.

There is no disputing that obesity and chronic pain are multi-factorial problems with no guaranteed solutions. Two forms of treatment, however, have been shown to positively affect individuals suffering from obesity and chronic pain: education and exercise.

Physical therapists are skilled in educating individuals regarding healthy living and are able to deliberately utilize exercise and movement to help improve quality of life. Subsequently, physical therapists stand face to face with a challenging opportunity: being front line providers in the treatment of individuals suffering from obesity and chronic pain.

In this presentation, similarities in potential foundational causes of obesity and chronic pain will be discussed. The ability of physical therapy to address these foundational causes and to ultimately assist in the treatment of these burdensome diseases will be highlighted and elaborated upon.

Pain has become a hot topic in the physical therapy profession as the APTA has pushed the #ChoosePT campaign to promote physical therapists (PTs) and physical therapist assistants (PTAs) as front-line providers to deal with pain at multiple different stages. The problem with this initiative is that many PTs/PTAs do not feel confident, or at times comfortable discussing pain with their patients. While it is important to understand the science behind the pain experience, including identifying different types of pain; what is equally important is translating that knowledge into the clinic.

This course is designed to better clinicians' understanding of what pain is, including the understanding that it is an output produced by the pain (an emotion) rather than a sensation. This course is further designed to help providers understand the importance of discussing pain with their patients related to outcomes, as well as understand how to discuss pain with their patients using clinical examples that the patients can understand.

Upon completion of the course, the attendee will:

1. Understand what pain is, how it is produced, and different types of pain which can be experienced.
2. Understand the effects our words have on patient outcomes related to pain including the Role of Placebo and Nocebo effects when discussing pain with our patients.
3. Understand research regarding patient perception and role of education on pain management.
4. Learn clinical examples to be utilized with patients to strengthen efficacy of pain education.

This session is focused on conservative therapy treatment methods of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The speaker will provide brief background information about the diagnosis, treatments, outcome measures, and specific application of techniques discussed. Multiple treatment ideas and specific areas of focus such as range of motion, weight-bearing, sensory input, pre-gait activities, ambulation progression, and higher level skills will be discussed and supported by case studies. A general recommended progression plan that has been implemented with this therapists group will also be introduced to provide some basic guidelines for a treatment plan.