Building the path to recovery from back pain: connection, curiosity, communication, and collaborative co-construction

Ben Darlow
University of Otago's medical school in Wellington, New Zealand

Description
This workshop is designed to help you to connect with your patient, hear their story, develop a curiosity-based collaborative approach to conceptualise and develop their story, and learn communication techniques and frameworks that can help to collaboratively co-construct a story that moves to recovery.
The workshop will include presentations, exercises, and role plays to explore concepts and develop practical skills.

Pre-reading:
Belton J, Birkinshaw H, Pincus T. Patient-centered consultations for persons with musculoskeletal conditions. Chiropractic & manual therapies 2022;30(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s12998-022-00466-w
Caneiro JP, Bunzli S, O'Sullivan P. Beliefs about the body and pain: the critical role in musculoskeletal pain management. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy 2021;25(1):17-29. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2020.06.003
Miciak M, Mayan M, Brown C, et al. The necessary conditions of engagement for the therapeutic relationship in physiotherapy: an interpretive description study. Archives of Physiotherapy 2018;8(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s40945-018-0044-1
Toye F, Belton J, Hannink E, et al. A Healing Journey with Chronic Pain: A Meta-Ethnography Synthesizing 195 Qualitative Studies. Pain Medicine 2021;22(6):1333-44. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnaa373

Preparation:
1) Email specific questions or learning outcomes you would like to achieve.
2) Bring a case study of an interesting or challenging patient that you can simulate during role plays. This may give you some ideas of different ways in which you could approach this case.
a. Focus on their story
b. How they moved and what you found in the examination

Learning outcomes
1) Skills to develop patient connection, hear their story, and draw on patient expertise and experience.
2) Techniques to explore perceived threat.
3) Identify and categorise evidence that supports or negates perceived threat, areas of conflict, and opportunities to reduce threat.
4) Physical examination techniques to gather evidence related to perceived threat and to positively influence threat.
5) Use evidence to nudge patients from fixed beliefs toward curiosity and exploration.
6) Communication techniques and frameworks to co-construct a story that moves to recovery.