FBKTIM: A Pain Exploration

Overview

From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement (FBKTIM) is a seven-part live series with physical and yoga therapist Sherry Brourman, built chapter by chapter from her book of the same name. Each session unpacks one chapter, bridging physical therapy, yoga therapy, and pain science into a framework you can bring straight into your own practice, with research assistant Gina moderating.

This session covers Chapter 2: A Pain Exploration. New to the series? Start with the free introductory session to see how it all connects, or see the full series and register here.

It is highly recommended that you have a copy of the book to accompany this series. You can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon or Singing Dragon, and you can learn more about the book on Sherry's website.

About Chapter 2: A Pain Exploration

Chapter 2 helps us use our own physical pain experiences as opportunities to cultivate self-awareness.

Alongside the personal experience of pain, we add the precision of interoception, or sensation detection in this case, and thoughtful self-reflection to deepen our understanding of pain. This intention is combined with the realization that our personal reactions to pain are often old, deeply grooved during childhood. Over time, these reactions become ingrained perceptions that feel like facts, sometimes as firmly held as our religious or political beliefs, making them extremely difficult to change.

The motivation for change, however, is universal: everyone longs for either pain relief or a more manageable relationship with pain.

Through the field of pain science, we now understand that, to some degree, we can cultivate response over reaction during moments of pain recognition. Whether well-timed pain science education helps diminish pain, as the literature suggests, or helps cultivate genuine pain acceptance, each experience offers a meaningful opportunity for learning and growth.

For people living with pain, conscious involvement rather than unconscious victimization can become an important step toward easing suffering.

Learning Objectives

In this session, we will:

1. Provide a general overview of current pain science while developing a framework for staying current as the field continues to evolve.
   
   
2. Develop a framework for studying and working with your own personal history of pain.
   
   
3. Use your sensorium (the combined awareness of all six senses) to recognize indicators that help you detect and respond to your own pain while developing the skills to help clients recognize and articulate theirs.
   
   
4. Differentiate among acute, persistent, long-lasting, and intermittent pain while appreciating that pain categories often overlap and may change over time.
   
   
5. Develop discernment for when to briefly introduce pain science, explore it in greater depth, postpone the discussion, or refer clients to additional pain science resources.
   
   
6. Recognize the impact of commonly used terms and diagnoses by distinguishing nocebic language from placebic language while developing compassionate ways to communicate about pain.
   
   
7. Differentiate and apply the concepts of neuroception, nociception, placebo, and nocebo.
   
   
8. Differentiate between psychosocial pain and psychogenic pain.
   
   
9. Collaborate with and trust clients' choices, even when they differ from your own clinical preferences.
   
   
10. Assess movement changes while considering a client's pain history alongside other influences such as weakness, aging, and natural movement adaptation.

Audience