A World of HURT: “Foods” A Non-Pharmacy Intervention for Chronic Pain & Illness

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This one-day course will focus on “Foods” as a non-pharmacy intervention for chronic pain, illness, and poor performance. Have you ever suspected that not everyone should eat the same thing or do the same exercise, you are right! In fact, the foods we absorb well and how our bodies handle stress differs in each person and in phases of healing and wellness. The stage of inflammation, recovery and wellness reflect our internal chemistry. It is the key that unlocks the mysteries of disease, pain, longevity, fitness, emotional strength, and healing. The food eaten can determine susceptibility to illness and prevent the most troubling health diseases. Foods are the most frequently introduced chemicals to the body and considered an intervention for pain and disease. The chemical reactions brought into the body through foods can be positive or negative. In conjunction with the healthy state of the liver and gut, they can alter the response to treatment for persistent pain and chronic illness. Recent ongoing literature suggests a non-pharmacy intervention for pain and disease in healthy eating plans such as whole food plant-based, ketogenic, low calorie, detoxification, and elimination diets. The function of the liver, the microbiome of the gut, and the integrity of the gut lining play an integral role in persistent inflammation. Whole food plant-based eating offers an individualized lifestyle health plan that is right for patients to maintain health and prevent disease. Gentle detox and balancing protocols for the liver, adrenal glands, gut, and thyroid can reactivate an immune system causing remission
to many autoimmune and neurological diseases. The inflammatory mechanism may have a chemical component systemically in the tissues, such as, cytokines, lipopolysaccharides, but also can be dominated by chronic infection, histamine, or hormonal imbalance. The patient’s symptoms can reflect the immune system’s stress and inability to heal the body. A person with an autoimmune condition will have more pre-existing inflammatory molecules present in the body compared to a person without. Therefore, an intervention focused on foods can alter the rate of healing and the overall outcome. The “Root Cause” to the immune system stress response can be multifactorial lifestyle habits identified within the foods people select, sleep habits and energy conservation. This can be the missing link to sustained benefits from pain and remission for chronic illness. The World of Hurt “Foods” course will introduce a framework to identify the dominating mechanism (inflammation, infection, hormonal, and metabolic) related to the immune system and persistence of symptoms. Evaluating diet, sleep and other lifestyle factors customizes the education and active care to involve different eating plans (detoxification, ketogenic, low calorie, intermittent fasting, etc) and targeted to the dominating mechanisms. Each person can greatly benefit from specific eating plans, vitamin supplements and exercise regimens identified within this simplistic framework.

AGENDA

Day 1 (7.0 CEU)
7:30 Registration
8:00 Course Introduction
8:15 Lecture: What patient characteristics requires a “Foods” approach?
9:00 Lecture: Lifestyle eating plans and what does the evidence conclude?
10:00 Break
10:15 Lecture: Proteins, Fats, Carbohydrates the Real Deal
11:15 Workshop: World of Hurt “Foods” Framework to Heal
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Workshop: Patient Education Materials
1:45 Lecture: Lab tests and values for healthy immune system
2:30 Break
2:45 Lecture: Advance protocols for healthy immune system
3:30 Lecture: Self-monitoring and Prevention
4:15 Debrief Day: Question & Answers
4:30 Adjourn

SPEAKERS:

Annie O’Connor, PT, OCS, Cert. MDT is Founder and CEO of a World of Hurt, LLC a dedicated consulting, teaching, telehealth, and research company for the application of Pain Mechanism Classification System into clinical practice. In addition, she is a Physical Therapy Manager for Anthem AIM Specialty Health Back Pain Guide Program. Annie has co-authored 2020, Pain Mechanism Classification Chapter, Rehabilitation of The Spine: A Patient Centered Approach. She has co-authored 2021 and 2017, Therapeutic Exercise Chapter, Orthopedic Knowledge Update Spine 6 & 5, American Academy for Orthopedic Surgeons publisher. This chapter
specifically is dedicated to helping Medical Doctors understand pain mechanism classification and the importance in therapeutic exercise selection. She has co-authored 2015 book “A World of Hurt: A Guide to Classifying Pain” and September 2016 Journal Article in JMMT “Validation of a pain mechanism classification system (PMCS) in physical therapy practice”. Both publications offer a research supported “paradigm shift” in treating Musculoskeletal Pain promoting effective and efficient outcomes with significant cost savings. She is an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist(OCS) of the American Physical Therapy Association and has a Certification in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy in the McKenzie Method (Cert. MDT). She teaches nationally and internationally the World of HURT training courses, a six course training series designed for interdisciplinary application of the PMCS into clinical practice. She lectures nationally and internationally pain mechanism classification and intervention, neurodynamic evaluation and treatment, mechanical
diagnosis and therapy of spine and extremities, kinetic chain evaluation, functional manual therapy, and exercise prescription. She was instrumental in establishing the Pain Mechanism Classification System framework for musculoskeletal pain and neurological spasticity at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. She is a member of American Physical Therapy Association, the North American Spine Society (NASS) serving on the Exercise Committee, and McKenzie Institute. She continues to treat orthopedic, neurological patients, and canines with pain and spasticity to achieve the best life possible through her Chicago based private practice.

Melissa Watson, MSPT, Cert. MDT is Vice President of the World of Hurt, LLC and assistant instructor for the World of Hurt six training courses. She received her Master’s in Physical Therapy and her Bachelor’s in Exercise Physiology from Ohio University. Melissa practices at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Burr Ridge Outpatient Center with 17 years of clinical experience in neurological rehabilitation. Melissa is a Master Clinician and certified clinical instructor with the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab where she mentors other clinicians and students on their professional and clinical development. She is a recognized mentor in utilizing Pain Mechanism Classification System for Neurological Patients with MSD Pain and Spasticity. She is practicing clinically in the Day Rehabilitation setting with a research interest in musculoskeletal pain and applying both pain classification and MDT principles within the neurological population for spasticity. She is currently leading a Day Rehab
Pain Group Committee where she is leads other Day Rehab clinicians on a research supported pain science education group that are focused on pain science education and active care treatment for patients with centrally dominated pain throughout 6 sites of
care facilitating a standard for education through inpatient and outpatient clinicians in a large system of care.  She certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment – McKenzie Method. She is an instructor of the Pain Mechanism Classification System outlined in the book “A World of Hurt: A Guide to Classifying Pain” and uses both sub grouping methods exclusively in her neurological clinical practice to guide patient education and exercise prescription to facilitate functional return.

1. Distinguish patient lifestyle, dietary, and disease characteristics that would benefit from a "Foods" intervention care plan.
2. Distinguish patient lifestyle, dietary, and disease characteristics that would benefit from a “Foods” intervention care plan.
3. Discuss the difference and application of high protein, low carbohydrate, ketogenic, blood type, and whole food plant-based eating plans.
4. Discuss the difference and application of high protein, low carbohydrate, ketogenic, blood type, and whole food plant-based eating plans.
5. Describe a framework of assessment to guide healthy lifestyle eating as a treatment for pain, disease management and prevention.
6. Describe a framework of assessment to guide healthy lifestyle eating as a treatment for pain, disease management and prevention
7. Interpret when to recommend advanced protocols for immune system health.