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Catastrophising and (maybe) what to do about it for subacute/chronic pain
This post is written primarily for non-psychologists, like a few of my recent ones! This is because I think it’s vital that we avoid ring-fencing aspects of pain management by various health...
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Catastrophising and Pain (ii)
What are some of the indications that someone tends to catastrophise about their pain? How do we know? Do we have to use a questionnaire? Is it really my job to know about this if I’m not a...
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A brief review of cognitive behavioural approaches for pain management
Cognitive behavioural approaches for pain management are not exactly the same as cognitive behavioural therapy for mental health problems. While there are some underlying concepts that are the same,...
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What to do about catastrophising even when you’re not a psychologist
OK, it’s time I stopped the suspense. This post is about what to do about catastrophising even when you’re a physiotherapist, massage therapist, acupuncturist, nurse, occupational therapist, social...
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Self efficacy and fear of movement mediate pain intensity and disability in...
Most clinicians working in chronic pain management are well aware that the time it takes for people to finally be referred for management of their pain is far too long and some of the readers of this...
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Using the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire
Over the past few months I’ve been using the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8) as part of a battery of questionnaires used at intake and outcome measures. Along with the CPAQ-8, we use...
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Which comes first: Doing or knowing?
Received wisdom in cognitive behavioural therapy says that to change behaviour, a person must first change his or her thinking. This has created a tension between those clinicians who emphasise the...
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Lorimer Moseley throws the gauntlet down!
This week I’ve been at the NOI Conference 2012 – a real blast! A week of neuroscience-backed biopsychosocial practice, and nerdy passions. My brain is nourished, in fact, it’s replete. And now to...
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Nerdy, Sciency Stuff
The past three weeks have been a swirl of joyous, passionate neuro-nerdy stuff! And yes, it’s absolutely possible to call neuroscience joyous and passionate (just ask David Butler and the NOI crew)....
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Living well with persistent pain – a problem solving model
Regions of the cerebral cortex associated with pain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Chronic pain is abnormal. Living well with chronic pain seems a myth, a bit of an impossibility. After all, chronic pain...
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When chronic pain is there before surgery
People with chronic pain present a special risk for surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and the rehabilitation team working with them after surgery. Surgery is, after all, “planned trauma”, and a...
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The OOV – Fabulous or familiar?
I love gadgets! New, innovative, groovy – I feel special when I have a new toy to play with. I justify my pleasure by saying “Oh it saves me SO much time”, or “I can do SO much more” – but really, it’s...
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Stepping out of the glue: How to generate goals
Chronic pain has been called one of the “most powerful and insidious disruptors” of routine, habit and wellbeing (Karoly, Okun, Enders & Tennen, 2014). When a person experiences pain, a whole...
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Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict...
I’ve been touring North America – Chicago, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver. As I’ve toured I’ve been listening to the stories of change and insight as different professions review their contributions...
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More than something to blame when the treatment doesn’t work
A friend of mine told me that during her physiotherapy training when they discussed “psychosocial” factors it was usually in the context of explaining why a treatment didn’t work. This still happens....
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Who can do Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Rehabilitation?
I have heard many discussions about scopes of practice: the main concern as far as I can see is of people who are trained to work mainly with the body perhaps stepping out of scope to work with...
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Treat the pain… or treat the depression? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome management
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very common pain disorder associated with compression of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel. Approximately 139 women and 67 males per 100,000 people will report this...
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Waitangi Day – or how to live together in unity
Today is New Zealand’s Waitangi Day ‘Mondayisation’ – the actual day was Saturday 6th Feb. It’s an important day in New Zealand because it’s the day when two completely different nations signed a...
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Why does “doing exercise” work?
Bless all the physiotherapists in the world, they keep us doing exercises. And exercises are good because they get us doing the things we want to do in our daily lives. But how does it work? This is...
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What do we do with those questionnaires?
Courtesy of many influences in pain management practice, you’d have to have been hiding under a rock or maybe be some sort of dinosaur not to have noticed the increasing emphasis on using...
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