To Infinity and Beyond: Safe and Effective Opioid Titration Strategies

Opioids are the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal for the management of moderate to severe pain, yet great care and attention to detail in dosing is necessary to prevent patient suffering and death. This presentation is a "boots on the ground" approach to selecting, dosing, titrating, and...

When That Shark Bites: Classic Central Pain Syndromes

During this 2-hour Master Class, participants will learn the pathoetiology of central pain syndromes (CPS). Six specific CPS will be described and clinical aspects will be discussed: multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, phantom limb pain, spinal cord injury, poststroke pain syndrome, and...

Tea Party of the Damned

During this session, we will discuss migraine, specifically migraine with aura. Types of migrainous auras will be shown, and we will "deep dive" into the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, a very specific and rare migrainous aura. Also to be discussed: evidence based medicine treatments to abort...

The Science of Mindful Meditation

This presentation will examine the uses and benefits of adopting mindfulness therapies within the scope of a comprehensive treatment plan. For people with persistent pain, practicing mindfulness meditation can be helpful, with moderate effects seen in reducing pain intensity. Compared to normal...

Transformative Care for Chronic Pain: Myofascial

Several studies from both pain clinics and primary care have found that regional myofascial pain is the most common presenting pain condition. Yet the lack of awareness of it is surprising. Everyone, at some point in their lives, has experienced acute muscle pain associated with overuse or...

Words That Do No Harm

Using "the right language" to trigger positive physiological responses in patients is a wellestablished practice based on robust placebo research. The nocebo effect is less studied but should be considered in pain care. Healthcare providers and educators try to help patients understand their painful...

Arachnoiditis: Diagnosis and Treatment

Arachnoiditis is officially listed as a rare disease, but its estimated incidence has increased over about 400% in the past decade. Almost every pain practice has now encountered a case. Technically, the name implies an inflammatory disease of the arachnoid layer of the thecal sac or meninges. In...

If Opioids Aren't the Answer, Then What Is the Question

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new prescription guidelines strongly urge physicians to reduce their use of opioid analgesics in the treatment of chronic pain. Specifically, the guidelines outline a multidisciplinary approach that includes interventional pain management and limited...

Caring for the Whole Patient: Integrative Therapies - Part 2

This session will help clinicians understand the role of interdisciplinary care in pain management by identifying the components of the biopsychosocial model. Cases will be discussed, and a review of literature findings supporting multidisciplinary treatment approaches and the chronification of pain...

Naloxone Prescriptions for Overdose

Opioid emergencies have risen with the increase in prescribing of opioids. It is imperative that prescribers of opioids know when to coprescribe naloxone therapy to their patients. It goes beyond the patient suspected of misuse and abuse. This presentation will focus on the patients you might not...