Massage & Bodywork

MAY | JUNE 2021

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L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 43 In the US, the more commonly used word for a person seeking treatment is usually client. In British English, as in other languages of countries where health care is a free public service, we usually say patient, reflecting a different dynamic in the client-provider relationship. As much of this article focuses on the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and an individual seeking care, I have deliberately chosen to use patient or person, to reflect how our choice of words is crucial to shifting our thinking about the therapeutic relationship. Therefore, client is only used when I am directly referring to a transactional relationship involving monetary payment. illness (the absence of wellness that may not have a biomedical root pathology). Factors such as social, lifestyle, or mental adjustments made to accommodate its effects (such as guarding an injured limb or coming to terms with loss of functionality) should not be pathologized or criticized. Rather, the therapist should seek to understand the context of these adaptations. Key to the original formulation of the BPS model is a reexamination of the concept of disease: "Disease cannot be defined on the basis of the function of physicians, which is a social and institutional phenomenon." 4 The BPS model allows a tailored approach that "places the disease back into the patient" 5 (as opposed to the textbook) and has been demonstrated to have significantly greater efficacy than surgery particularly in the assessment and management of chronic pain. Some evidence suggests a multidisciplinary BPS approach is more effective than physical hands-on treatment, 6 which does not clash with the evidence-based medicine model but improves on it when the two are integrated and correctly implemented. 7 In practice, the BPS approach places significant emphasis on the intake interview with a broader range of questions than in traditional history taking, while the therapist pays particular attention to the sociocultural and psychological components of a patient's responses in developing a treatment plan. This approach includes reeducating the patient around their perceptions of pain. In the context of physical therapy, this has been dubbed the "first step in pain neuroscience education," wherein the personalized treatment plan should include "a proper explanation of the neurophysiology of pain and the biopsychosocial interactions in an interactive and patient-centered manner." 8 The goal of BPS is to help patients understand their condition in a way that is relevant to their individual context, moving away from traditional biomedical models that have been demonstrated to have adverse effects on a patient's progress. According to the current literature, the key principles of pain science on which this approach rests are: Pain does not necessarily reflect the state of tissue. The degree of pain felt does not accurately reflect the actual degree of tissue damage. And the plasticity of the nervous system allows retraining and treatment. 9 To effectively use the last of these, development of a collaborative relationship is necessary to achieve lifestyle and behavioral changes. These principles have strongly influenced priorities in pain Looking Ahead Part 3 of this series examines a case study and offers exercises to demonstrate the application of the methods described in a manual therapy context. Part 4 consists of a more detailed critical appraisal of narrative medicine and its companion graphic medicine, with attention to their potential for implementation in the manual therapy professions in general, and massage therapy in particular. Beyond the potential benefit to individual practice, in view of the current restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this information may provide a valuable path of exploration and training for manual therapists who are looking for ways to pivot professionally. The information may also be a valuable way to bridge evidence-based medicine practice with current developments.

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