Please click below for session outlines and confirmed speakers
Topical Sessions 1 – Monday 20 April 2026, 10.45am - 12.15pm
Topical Sessions 2 – Monday 20 April 2026, 1.45pm - 3.15pm
Topical Sessions 3 – Tuesday 21 April 2026, 10.45am - 12.15pm
1A: At a crossroads: The emergence of co-occurring chronic pain, mental ill-health, and neurodivergence in young people
Chair: Dr Scott Tagliaferri, University of Melbourne/Orygen, Vic
In Australia, one-in-five young people aged 12-24 years live with chronic pain. Yet society continues to stigmatise and invalidate the presence of chronic pain in young people. Mental health disorders also peak in onset during this period and frequently co-occur with chronic pain. Young women, and youth living with neurodivergence, experience unique challenges and are at a heightened vulnerability to chronic pain and mental ill-health. Co-occurrence creates an inequitable healthcare burden on these young people, and the urgent development of youth-focused accessible and integrated solutions are required.
Four researchers from diverse clinical and research backgrounds (physiotherapy, exercise physiology, psychology) will explore these intersecting conditions:
1.Dr Scott Tagliaferri will present on the national landscape of co-occurring chronic pain and mental ill-health in young people.
2.Dr Josep Roman Juan will present on the interplay between neurodevelopmental disorders and youth chronic pain.
3.A/Prof Subhadra Evans will present on the relationship between girls’ menstrual pain and later mental ill-health
4.Dr Nardia Klem will present on how lived experience data can inform integrated care options for young people with co-occurring chronic pain and mental health conditions
An interactive session will discuss what can be done to develop and implement novel integrated youth focussed solutions that aim to effectively support young people living with co-occurring chronic pain, mental ill-health, and neurodivergence.
Speakers:
Dr Scott Tagliaferri, University of Melbourne/Orygen, Vic
Dr Josep Roman Juan, University of Manchester, University of Calgary,
A/ Professor Subhadra Evans, Deakin University, VIC
Dr Nardia Klem, Curtin University, WA
1B: Beyond Trials: The Role of Clinical Registries in Advancing Pain Management
Chair: Professor James McAuley, Neuroscience Research Australia, NSW
Clinical registries are increasingly recognised as a tool for understanding real-world healthcare, complementing evidence from clinical trials or even filling gaps where trials fall short. Registry data have been pivotal in shaping guidelines and driving quality improvement across many fields of medicine. Despite their impact, few registries exist for pain conditions, limiting understanding of disease mechanisms, service delivery and long-term outcomes.
This topical session will explore the purpose and impact of clinical registries, with a focus on their potential for improving pain management. We will highlight why registries matter, how they extend knowledge beyond the constraints of clinical trials, and their value in generating timely, clinically relevant evidence. The Electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration (ePPOC) will be presented as a key example, outlining its development and contribution to improving chronic pain services. We will also map the current landscape of pain-related registries in Australia, opening the session to a collaborative discussion about challenges, opportunities, and the future direction of clinical registries for pain conditions.
The aim of this session is to provide a platform for discussion and critical analysis of the benefits, limitations and future direction of pain registries in Australia.
Speakers:
Mr Jackson Linke, Neuroscience Research Australia, New South Wales
Dr David Holloway, University Of Wollongong, NSW
Professor Maria Inacio, South Australian Health And Medical Research Institute, SA
Professor Ian Harris, UNSW Sydney, NSW
1C: The social side of pain: How social influences can alter pain experiences and improve pain management
Chair: Dr Felicity Braithwaite, University of South Australia, SA
This interactive topical session will explore how social factors influence pain. It will focus on how complex social interactions and contexts can shape how pain is experienced and the mechanisms through which these effects occur. The session will also showcase how social influences can be leveraged in clinical and research settings, bringing exciting new opportunities for pain management.
This session brings together researchers from experimental psychology and physiotherapy to share their latest research findings on this topic. We will cover how social learning can alter pain – how the act of observing or hearing about others’ painful experiences can induce powerful placebo and nocebo effects, how threatening social contexts and observations can amplify pain-related fear and avoidance, and how nocebo effects can be socially transmitted via negative expectations spreading through social groups. We will also discuss the untapped potential of narrative storytelling, where people with lived experience of pain share their stories to reduce pain misconceptions and inspire behaviour change while minimising scepticism and invalidation.
The session will include audience interaction and discussion on how social influences can positively and negatively shape pain-related outcomes. Attendees will gain practical strategies to evaluate and manipulate social factors to enhance pain care and research. "
Speakers:
Dr Felicity Braithwaite, University of South Australia, SA
Professor Ben Colagiuri, University Of Sydney, NSW
A/ Professor Ann Meulders, Maastricht University, Netherlands
1D: Reducing pain in sick and healthy babies: Targeted resources, use of effective strategies, barriers to optimal pain management and elephants in the room
Chair: Professor Denise Harrison, The University Of Melbourne, VIC
Abundant evidence exists of analgesic effects of breastfeeding, skin-skin contact and sucrose for newborns during painful procedures. However, these strategies have been inconsistently adopted. Our research team produced three resources aimed at improving newborn pain management; two targeted at clinicians (Infant Pain Practice Change (ImPaC) and the ‘Ergonomics video’) and one targeted at parents (BSweet2Babies video), all of which have been systematically evaluated. In multisite trials in Canada, both ImPaC and BSweet2Babies video led to increased use of pain management strategies. In recent nationwide surveys in Australia, clinicians (nurses and midwives) and parents of newborns frequently used breastfeeding, skin-skin and sucrose during newborn screening. These data are the most promising to date as they show more widespread use of pain management strategies for sick and healthy newborns. However, barriers still remain in supporting parents to be present and involved. Some barriers relate specifically to sick babies, including parents not being present, but others relate to parents of sick and healthy babies in terms of not being informed. EG “I would have liked to be present but was not given the option.” (Unpublished parent survey). Our clinician-researchers and parent panel will discuss evidence, utilisation, ethics of newborn pain management and elephants in the rooms.
Speakers:
Professor Denise Harrison, The University Of Melbourne, VIC
Ms Melinda Cruz, NICU Lived Network And University of Sydney, NSW
Dr Sophie Jones, The University Of Melbourne, VIC
Professor Mariana Bueno, University of Toronto, Ontario
1E: Sensitisation, from molecules to minds
Chair: A/Professor Wendy Imlach, Monash University, VIC
Pain research has made remarkable progress, but what if our understanding of sensitisation is only part of the story? This session challenges conventional thinking and explores overlooked mechanisms that could redefine chronic pain. We will examine sensitisation from the periphery to the brain, drawing on research that spans basic science discoveries to insights from clinical populations. A/Prof Imlach will open the session with an overview of the latest discoveries and innovation in basic pain science, before we hear from three leading researchers who have uncovered new insights in pain sensitisation:
•Dr Dusan Matusica will reveal molecular fingerprints of persistent post-surgical pain, showing how transcriptomic and proteomic changes are critical markers of pain development, and how biosensors could transform how we detect and track sensitisation in real time.
•Dr Mark Gradwell will take us deep into the spinal cord, decoding circuits that turn touch into torment. Using viral tools, electrophysiology, and genetics, his work uncovers how central networks amplify pain.
•Prof Richelle Mychasiuk will flip the script on brain involvement, spotlighting brain regions including the cerebellum, long ignored in pain research, as surprising players in chronic pain processing.
Join us for a provocative discussion that bridges molecules and minds, sparks debate, and redefines where the next breakthroughs in pain science will come from."
Speakers:
A/Professor Wendy Imlach, Monash University, VIC
Dr Dusan Matusica, Flinders University, SA
Dr Mark Gradwell, Rutgers University, USA
Professor Richelle Mychasiuk, University Of Sydney, NSW
1F: The Great Debate: Screening for endometriosis is a nocebo
Chair: Dr Jane Chalmers, University Of South Australia, SA
Think screening for endometriosis is the gold standard in pelvic pain care? This debate aims to challenge that thinking.
Calls for screening for endometriosis are growing in an attempt to reduce Australia’s diagnostic delay and improve outcomes. However, recent commentaries have proposed that screening for endometriosis may be a nocebo – that is, the process may lead to worse symptoms and poorer outcomes. For example, screening for endometriosis may inadvertently amplify vigilance to pelvic pain, increase fear of pathology, and pathologise normal variations in menstrual experience. Conversely, screening may validate suffering, provide language to describe symptoms, and offer earlier entry to support and conservative management, potentially reducing the psychosocial burden of dismissal and delay.
This debate will consider both sides of the proposition: whether screening for endometriosis fuels symptom hypervigilance, over-medicalisation, and stigma, or whether it empowers individuals, validates their experiences, and opens doors to timely care. Two teams of three experts each will present opening remarks and rebuttals based on published scientific literature and applied to a fictitious case study. The audience will take part in an open Q&A session and anonymous audience polls will determine the winner of The Great Debate!
Speakers:
Dr Marilla Druitt, Deakin University, VIC
Dr Amelia Mardon, Western Sydney University, NSW
2A: Do you have a pharmacist-sized hole in your pain team?
Chair: Mrs Katelyn Jauregui, The University of Sydney and Campbelltown Hospital, NSW
Despite the widespread use of medicines in managing pain, pharmacists are often overlooked as members of the pain team. This session will launch the Australian Pain Society’s Position Statement on the Role of the Pharmacist in Pain Management and showcase the diverse and powerful contributions pharmacists make as integral members of the interdisciplinary pain team.
Pharmacists bring expertise in medicines, chronic disease management, patient education, and harm reduction, yet their skills are often underutilised. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 57% of Australians living with chronic pain are dispensed at least one analgesic medication, underscoring the need for pharmacist involvement, given medication-related harms are a leading cause of hospital admissions.
Across hospitals, community pharmacy, community health, and academic research, pharmacists are driving improvements in quality use of medicine including medication reconciliation and rationalisation, analgesic stewardship, adverse effect management, identification of drug and disease interactions, and a reduction of medication errors leading to improved patient outcomes. Speakers will share real-world examples highlighting pharmacists’ diverse involvement in pain management.
This session will challenge outdated assumptions around the role of the pharmacist and demonstrate how integrating pharmacists more intentionally into pain management teams enhances both patient safety and the quality of care.
Speakers:
Ms Thuy Bui, Alfred Health, VIC
Dr Pene Wood, IPC Health, VIC
A/ Professor Jonathan Penm, The University Of Sydney, NSW
Professor Suzanne Nielsen, Monash University, VIC
2B: Innovation, collaboration and translation to improve chronic musculoskeletal pain care; insights and future directions
Chair: Professor Helen Slater, Curtin University, WA
This session will comprise of four 15 minute presentations followed by an interactive discussion. First Michael Nicholas will outline key outcomes and learnings from implementing matched biopsychosocial models of care for musculoskeletal pain disorders after recent injuries in diverse settings, including workers compensation contexts and their implications for training all stakeholders. Next Peter O’Sullivan will discuss his teams outcomes and insights from the RESTORE clinical trial of cognitive functional therapy for people with chronic low back pain. He will further discuss how this has informed broader implementation with evoolvepaincare.academy. Tasha Stanton will introduce how sensorimotor and perceptual dysfunction in people with knee osteoarthritis support use of novel neuroscience-informed peri-operative and post-operative treatment, including ways in which this can be embedded into clinical care pathways. Finally Trudy Rebbeck will present findings from implementing a hybrid pathway of care for chronic MSK pain in urban Australia (PACE MSK). She will then introduce how learnings from implementation strategies have informed widespread implementation currently underway in rural Australia (PACE-RURAL). The session will conclude with a 30 minute panel discussion facilitated by Prof Helen Slater, which explores experiences, learnings with common issues identified and the future visions for MSK care pathways Australia wide.
Speakers:
Professor Trudy Rebbeck, University Of Sydney, NSW
Professor Michael Nicholas, University Of Sydney, NSW
Professor Peter O'Sullivan, Curtin University, WA
Professor Tasha Stanton, University Of South Australia, SA
2C: Transforming the conversation between clinicians, researchers and consumers: behavioural innovations and social impact in pain care
Chair: Professor Cylie Williams, Monash University, VIC
This workshop showcases cutting-edge research on behavioural interactions in pain care, emphasizing the social impact of pain and transformative power of community. We present ground breaking findings on how behaviours shape pain interactions and how health professionals can harness these behaviours for better pain care.
The first two presenters will present comprehensive findings from the most up to date qualitative syntheses of children’s and their parents experiences in the clinic, including describing and communicating their pain, experiences with healthcare professionals and the impact on their daily lives. They then explore future research initiatives, including what matters to consumers when receiving healthcare, and what does this LOOK and SOUND like clinically? Our final presenter reveals surprising behaviour change from a pilot study introducing pain science curricula into schools. She shares exciting innovations for assessing the social impact of community pain initiatives and asks how we can harness this new knowledge in clinical care.
Finally, in an interactive Q&A session, we are honoured to include guest lived-experience co-researchers Kim & Eliza Lawrence who will facilitate a joint “tough topics” session. This conversation aims to deepen understanding of the ethical complexities in pain research and provision of healthcare for adult & paediatric pain care.
Speakers:
Mrs Jen Norton, University Of Technology Sydney, NSW
Miss Jessica Coventry, Monash University, VIC
Dr Rebecca Fechner, Children's Health Queensland, QLD
Mrs Kim Lawrence, Lived Experience, QLD
Miss Eliza Lawrence, Lived Experience, QLD
2D: A practical approach to hypnotic communication in pain management. Something new for the toolbox
Chair: Dr Andrew Watson, Calvary Public Hospital, ACT
Although hypnosis practices date back millennia, it was not until 1829 the French surgeon Jules Cloquet amputated a breast comfortably under ‘mesmeric sleep’ demonstrating the potential role of hypnosis in pain management. Despite numerous case reports of the successful use of hypnosis in managing pain since, it was not until 2023 that the first randomised study comparing general anaesthesia with clinical hypnosis was conducted demonstrating anxiolysis and earlier discharge from hospital in hypnosis allocated patients. Increasing evidence of the neurobiological basis and beneficial benefits of hypnosis now provide a clear rationale for its routine use in pain and anxiety management.
The session will include three expert clinicians, teachers and researchers who routinely use hypnosis techniques in their day to day interactions with patients to optimise therapeutic outcomes and enhance clinical care. They come from the fields of paediatric and obstetric anaesthesia, dentistry, and rheumatology. Each clinician researcher will share examples of how they utilise evidence based hypnotic communication techniques to manage pain and anxiety in their daily practice.
Speakers:
A/ Professor Allan Cyna, University Of Adelaide, SA
Professor Vidya Limaye, Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA
Dr Sophie Teager, Paediatric Dental Unit Womens and Children's Hospital/ Paediatric dental care, SA
2E: Placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia: An updated perspective on neurobiology, translational potential, and behavioural implementation
Chair: Professor Tasha Stanton, The University Of South Australia, SA
The ability to alter perceived pain, both inhibitory and facilitatory effects, can be triggered through the respective phenomenon of placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia. The past decade has seen a flourish in academic understanding of the brain and biological circuits which drive these effects in both humans and animals, and their translational and clinical potential is beginning to be unraveled and fully appreciated. Between two national and two international speakers, this session will cover an updated perspective of how the mammalian brain generates these pain altering effects, as well as the different patterns of behaviour and clinical presentations which are subject to their manifestations.
Drs Boorman and Crawford will first cover an updated view on recent research findings related to animal and human brain and brainstem systems which drive placebo and nocebo effects, before Dr Rooney discusses their work into the intersection of emotion and pain, and how nocebo effects can manifest through cognitive biases, mental imagery, and choice. Associate Professor Carlesso and Professor Stanton will then describe their recent collaborative work into how nocebo effects can manifest when people are exposed to commonly found images and descriptors potentially altering and negatively impacting patients’ pain.
The session will conclude with an open forum, and speaker question and answer section to discuss the real work triggers of placebo / nocebo, and the future of utilizing these phenomena.
Speakers:
Dr Damien Boorman, University Of Toronto, Ontario
Dr Lewis Crawford, The University Of Sydney, NSW
Dr Tessa Rooney, The University Of Sydney, NSW
A/ Professor Lisa Carlesso, McMaster University, Canada
2F: Central sensitisation and nociplastic pain: Mechanisms, meaning, conundrums and clinical implications
Chair: Professor Paul Hodges, The University Of Queensland, QLD
Nociplastic pain and central sensitization are related, often used interchangeably, but are different concepts from different fields. Nociplastic pain describes a pattern of signs and symptoms that are not explainable by tissue inflammation or neural injury or disease. Central sensitization is a physiological term that refers to “increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system to their normal or subthreshold afferent input”. Both concepts have their problems. Central sensitization originally referred to a specific neurone in the spinal cord but has broadened in its definition as new experimental techniques and discoveries have emerged. Some argue that its use should be limited to specific contexts; others argue for broad interpretation. It makes sense that it can contribute to nociplastic pain, but it also makes sense that it can contribute to nociceptive and neuropathic pain and it is impossible to demonstrate it in a live human. Nociplastic pain is not immediately intuitive and often misunderstood by patients and clinicians. This session will provide an in depth discussion of the meaning, biological underpinnings, debate and conundrums that surround these terms, and how we might best communicate them clearly, accurately, and in a way that ultimately promotes better clinical outcomes.
Speakers:
Professor Paul Hodges, The University Of Queensland, QLD
Professor Mark Hutchinson, University Of Adelaide, SA
Professor Lorimer Moseley, University of South Australia, SA
3A: Artificial Intelligence in the Pain World: From Promise to Practice
Chair: Dr Joshua Pate, University of Technology Sydney, NSW
Voice-activated history-taking apps, conversational agents that counsel patients for hours, and fully agentic research assistants are now crossing the threshold from pilot to practice. By April 2026, many delegates will be testing, or already relying on, such tools. Yet policy, privacy, and governance frameworks still lag. This 90-minute interactive fishbowl brings together AI researchers, pain clinicians, an ethical expert and an AI agent consumer voice to ask one urgent question: How do we ensure that artificial intelligence and agentic systems help people in pain, rather than add noise or risk?
The session opens with three rapid, real-world exemplars: (1) an AI-enabled digital health solution to support people in pain care; (2) an educational chatbot for people on long pain clinic waiting lists; and (3) an autonomous research agent accelerating literature synthesis. Dr Melissa McCradden (ethical AI and health systems), Dr Joshua Pate (AI and paediatric pain research & education), Professor Helen Slater (AI clinical implementation), and Professor Mark Hutchinson (AI agent consumer, neuroimmunopharmacology and policy) will rotate into the centre to debate data privacy, bias, workflow integration, and consumer trust. Audience members can join the inner circle, pose scenarios, and vote live on feasible system-level solutions. Participants will leave with a practical framework for deciding if, when, where, and how to deploy AI and agentic tools in their own settings, and when to press pause.
Speakers:
Professor Helen Slater, Curtin University, WA
Professor Mark Hutchinson, University Of Adelaide, SA
Dr Joshua Pate, University of Technology Sydney, NSW
Dr Melissa McCradden, University of Adelaide, SA
3B: Bringing clarity to complexity: Strengthening the translational pipeline for complex pain interventions
Chair: Mr Yannick Gilanyi, University Of New South Wales, NSW
Non-pharmacological interventions for pain are increasingly complex, often involving multiple interacting components and contextual dependencies. This complexity presents significant challenges for reproducibility, implementation and clinical translation. This interactive session will aim to explore practical strategies to enhance the translation of complex interventions from clinical trials to clinical practice by improving how trials are described, delivered and understood.
Dr Aidan Cashin will open the session by outlining why complexity impedes translation and how poor specification of intervention components and mechanisms contributes to this gap. Dr Fernando Sousa will present guidelines on measuring and reporting intervention fidelity, supporting rigour, transparency and reproducibility in healthcare interventions. Doctoral candidate Yannick Gilanyi and Dr Erin MacIntyre will present innovative approaches to evaluating complex interventions from the MEMOIR and MIRAGE trials, showcasing how the delivery and mechanisms of action are being evaluated to inform clinical translation. Together, this session will provide practical recommendations, allowing the audience to strengthen their own translational pipelines.
Throughout this topical session polls will be used to facilitate audience reflection and engagement with the presenters. The session will conclude with a panel-led discussion on how researchers, together with relevant stakeholders, can design and evaluate complex interventions to maximise their real-world impact.
Speakers:
Mr Yannick Gilanyi, University Of New South Wales, NSW
Dr Erin MacIntyre, University Of South Australia, SA
Dr Fernando Sousa, Monash University, VIC
3C: Humans are designed to influence each other: Using language, tone, pacing and posture to drive plasticity to promote wellness, comfort and self-care in youth with chronic pain
Chair: Dr Carolyn Berryman, University of South Australia, SA
Therapeutic relationships can change our patterns of behaviour and thinking. Our communication as clinicians and collaborators can be empowering and benefit patient and family's well-being (being-well), their physical comfort, and capacity for self-care. This is particularly important in youth with chronic pain where there is a risk that poorly managed chronic pain will continue into adulthood. Furthermore ""Emerging science recognises human experience not as disease and diagnosis, but as manifestations of individual, uniquely-endowed, adaptively self-regulating systems"" (Alter and Sugarman 2016). As our understanding of chronic disease management evolves beyond the paradigm of the “diagnose and treat” model, we find ourselves in the roles of coaches, evoking each patient’s unique resources for self-regulation. Communication is embodied - monitoring our tone, pacing, posture and that of our patients and families are nuanced skills for clinicians wanting to improve the effectiveness of clinical interactions and effectively deliver person-centred care with patient and families.
How do we integrate these nuanced skills into our therapeutic communication to facilitate psychophysiological change for our patients?
In this interactive workshop we will demonstrate how.
Speakers:
Dr Carolyn Berryman, University of South Australia, SA
Professor Laurence Sugarman, Rochester Institute Of Technology, USA
Dr Nick Mills, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, SA
Dr Kate Obst, Women's And Children's Hospital, SA
3D: Advancing the management of ‘sciatica’ – Where should we go next
Chair: Professor Christine Lin, The University Of Sydney, Nsw
‘Sciatica’ is a common, disabling condition, yet major uncertainties remain around its diagnosis, classification, and management. This interactive workshop will bring together leading international and national experts to critically examine current evidence and chart future directions for research and clinical practice.
Chaired by Professor Christine Lin (University of Sydney), the session will feature Associate Professor Rafael Zambelli Pinto (University Technology Sydney) on pharmacological and non-pharmacological management, Dr Giovanni Ferreira (University of Sydney) on surgical management, including novel models of care to improve surgical outcomes, and Professor Annina Schmid (Oxford University, UK) on controversies in diagnosis and classification and their potential relevance to treatment. The talks will provide concise updates and highlight key gaps in knowledge.
Following these presentations, the audience will engage in a facilitated discussion and structured priority-setting exercise to identify the most pressing questions to advance our understanding in the diagnosis, classification, and management of sciatica. Topics may include: which patients may benefit from early surgery, the role of pharmacological versus non-pharmacological treatments, and how to improve diagnostic and classification systems.
This workshop will be highly interactive, designed to foster collaboration between clinicians, researchers, and consumers, and to generate a shared research agenda that is clinically meaningful and patient-centred.
Speakers:
Professor Annina Schimd, University Of Oxford,
A/ Professor Rafael Zambelli Pinto, University Of Technology Sydney, NSW
Dr Giovanni Ferreira, The University Of Sydney, NSW
3E: Unexpected Roles and Connections: Expanding the Map of Pain Signalling
Chair: Dr Dusan Matusica, Flinders University, SA
The pain pathway is a standard component of textbooks; it is taught in schools and universities and is foundational knowledge for experimental design and research. In this session, four researchers challenge its simplistic structure. They present evidence highlighting structural differences between laboratory animals and humans, and describe important additional features associated with key elements of the pain pathway. Jason Ivanusic will outline the unique structure of peripheral nerve endings in human joints, Rainer Haberberger will provide insight into the unique features of human DRG ultrastructure adding to its cellular diversity. Brett Graham asks the question if projection neurons in the spinal cord dorsal horn just function as relay stations to deliver information to higher brain centres or if they have a role in the control of reflexes at the spinal cord level. Irina Vetter will provide insight into the mechanisms of cold allodynia caused by Gympie Gympie stings, paralleling the human experience to mechanistic studies from rodent sensory neurons and the skin-saphenous nerve preparation. In summary, the session will question the existing description of the pain pathway highlighting newest research across Australia.
Speakers:
Professor Jason Ivanusic, The University Of Melbourne, VIC
Professor Rainer Haberberger, The University Of Adelaide, SA
Professor Brett Graham, The University Of Newcastle, NSW
Professor Irina Vetter, The University of Queensland, QLD
3F: The Road Less Dreary: How to Create a More Enjoyable Rehabilitation Experience for Painful Conditions
Chair: Dr Nicole Andrews, Recover Injury Research Centre, The University Of Queensland, Qld
Non-pharmacological treatments for pain conditions such as mind-body strategies and exercise rely on consistent, long-term application to achieve lasting pain management and meaningful clinical outcomes. A major challenge with non-pharmacological approaches is that they can be dull and tedious to do. This session brings together clinicians, researchers and computer scientists to unpack how we can make pain rehabilitation more enjoyable leading to enhanced motivation and long-term outcomes. Comprised of short presentations and “idea jams” to draw on the lived experience and expertise of the audience, this session will open your mind and help you think outside the box. We will be covering topics such as doing with meaning, gamification, digital health, and social connectedness. Real world applications and evaluations will be presented to stimulate ideas and discussion. Come along and transform how we provide assessment and interventions for people who have pain.
Speakers:
Dr Nicole Andrews, Recover Injury Research Centre, The University Of Queensland, Qld
Dr Robert Cuthbert, Recover Injury Research Centre, The University of Queensland,
Mr Michael Deen, Metro South Health Persistent Pain Management Service, Princess Alexandra Hospital, QLD