Parker R, Madden VJ. State of the art: What have the pain sciences brought to physiotherapy?
SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOTHERAPY 2020;
76:1390. [PMID:
32161828 PMCID:
PMC7059532 DOI:
10.4102/sajp.v76i1.1390]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Pain is the most common reason for patients to seek help from a health care professional. In the past few decades, research has yielded gains in the Pain Sciences - multiple fields of scientific research that, when integrated, help to clarify what causes and influences human pain.
Objectives
In this article, we discuss the key areas in which the Pain Sciences have shifted the physiotherapy profession.
Method
A narrative review of the Pain Sciences literature was conducted. The review analyses how the Pain Sciences have influenced physiotherapy in several categories: assessment; clinical reasoning; treatment; research rigor and building the profile of the profession.
Results
Scientific research on pain has largely converged in support of three ‘game-changing’ concepts that have shifted the physiotherapy profession’s understanding and treatment of pain: (1) pain is not a signal originating from bodily tissues, (2) pain is not an accurate measure of tissue damage and (3) the plasticity of the nervous system means the nervous system itself is a viable target of treatment. These three concepts have influenced physiotherapy assessment and treatment approaches, and research design to consider pain mechanisms using patient-centred models.
Conclusion
The Pain Sciences have shifted physiotherapists’ assessment and treatment approaches and shifted the status of the physiotherapy profession. Ultimately the Pain Sciences have embedded interdisciplinary teams and expanded physiotherapy practice.
Clinical implications
We believe that the pain sciences should be embedded in undergraduate and postgraduate education and training of physiotherapists (including the three key concepts regarding pain) to benefit physiotherapists and their patients.
Collapse