Neuroplasticity Chronic Pain Treatment Workshop By The Perth Brain Centre
The Perth Brain Centre was pleased to have recently been invited to present to The South West Occupational Therapy Professional Development Group (SWOTPDG). Daniel Lane (Clinical Director) and Linda Gibbs (Senior Clinician) led a 4 hour professional Neuroplasticity chronic pain treatment workshop on "Reversing Mal-adaptive Plasticity in Chronic Pain".
What is Chronic/Persistent Pain?
Chronic, or Persistent Pain, is defined as “pain that lasts for more than three months, or in many cases, beyond normal healing time.” Chronic Pain Australia highlights that chronic pain “doesn’t obey the same rules as acute pain, and can be seen as somewhat of a mystery.” Chronic pain affects 1 in 3 adults over 65 years, and is the leading cause of forced early retirement, with people spending an average of $1,800 pet year on medication treatment alone. It is now widely understood that successful treatment of chronic pain must be directed towards re-training the brain.
All pain comes from the brain, and chronic pain is caused by unhelpful changes in the brain called “maladaptive plasticity” - a term derived from the new science of neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change its internal wiring or function.
About the Workshop
Daniel and Linda discussed the state-of-the-art treatments used in clinic that successfully retrain the brain to reduce chronic pain. They covered a range of topics including Brain-Computer Interfaces, Brain-Mapping, Network and Neurone Theory, Neuroplasticity chronic pain treatment, non-invasive brain-stimulation and virtual reality. Daniel and Linda also ran practical hands-on sessions covering the brain-based exercises used by patients in clinic and at home to retrain the brain.
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