ASSESSMENT AND MODULATION OF PAIN MECHANISMS - A THEORETICAL AND HANDS-ON COURSE

 

Description

“Personalized Mechanistic Pain Medicine” aims to assess the underlying mechanisms of pain and target these mechanisms using tailored treatment. Assessment of pain is complex and range from assessments of nerve activity using advanced neurophysiological tests to patient reported outcomes. Emerging evidence supports that multiple pain mechanisms interact on each other and many of these are modulated by comorbidities and/or demographic features (such as age, gender, BMI).

This course will provide the students with an in-depth understanding of a range of pain mechanisms in relation to (1) central pain mechanisms using quantitative sensory testing; (2) assessments of cognitive factors (such as pain catastrophizing, anxiety and depression); and (3) neurophysiological assessments and modulation of the motor system and how this is related to changes in pain.

Students will be introduced to how these can be assessed and be provided with examples on and how these can be modulated. Additionally, this course includes an introduction to the pain laboratories and hands-on experience with assessments of pain mechanisms.

 

Literature

Selected papers and book chapters will be announced to the participants shortly before the course.

 

Prerequisites

None

 

Evaluation

A multiple-choice test will evaluate the student’s outcome of the course and evaluated as pass/not pass.

Organiser:          Associate Professor Kristian Kjær Petersen, email: kkp@hst.aau.dk

Lecturers:           Associate Professor Kristian Kjær Petersen, Assistant Professor Dennis Boye Larsen, Associate Professor Laura Petrini

ECTS:                     2.0

Dates:                   8, 9 10 March 2023 (08:15-16:15)

Place:                   Aalborg University, Selma Lagerløfs Vej 249, 9260 Gistrup

                             8 March: Room SLV 249/11.00.033

                             9 and 10 March: Room SLV 12.02.066

Deadline:            15 February 2023                     

Program:             BEN (relevant for all PhD students working with pain in humans)

Important information concerning PhD courses:

We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.