a World of HURT: A Guide to Classifying Pain Overview Course- In Person

Thank you for your interest in the Virtual Course "a World of HURT Course: A Guide to Classifying Pain Overview Course " taking place on August 16-17, 2025

**EARLY BIRD until May 18 = $499, cost after May 18 = $549

Who Should Attend: Physical and Occupational Therapists & Assistants, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Medical Doctors, Naturopath Doctors, Psychologists, Athletic Trainers, Massage Therapists, Personal Trainers, and any other practitioners who are involved in treating musculoskeletal or centrally domainted pain and prescribing exercise.

There is not a prerequesite or requiement to attend this course. Our hope is that you will take the individual world of hurt courses that you need for your own clinical practice and professional development.

Please use the email to sign up that you would like course communciations sent to. Some work emails block google drive documents from being delivered. Please keep this in mind when signing up.

1 Day Pricing: If you are not able to attend both days, please email us at worldofhurt2@gmail.com or call/text Melissa Watson at (513) 518- 9239 for 1 day pricing options.

Group Discount: If you have a group of clinicians (4 or more) who would like to attend together, please sign up all three people at the same time and use promo code "WOHGROUP"

Student Pricing: If you are a current student in a healthcare program, please use WOHSTUDENT as the promo code to get 50% off the course.

Audit/Retake: If you have taken the Overview Coure before and would like to audit the course, please use the promo code WOHOVERVIEWAUDIT and the cost will be 50% off the course price. Please email worldofhurt2@gmail.com with your name and where you attended the overview course in the past. We are happy to have you again!

"a World of Hurt: A Guide to Classifying Pain" Text Book: The course matierial is taught from the book a World of HURT: A Guide to Classifying Pain” © 2023, World of Hurt LLC. It is not required to purchase the book prior to the course, but it is recommended. Purchase a World of Hurt Text Book: Click Here.

The book “a World of Hurt: A Guide to Classifying Pain” collaborates two proven mechanism classification systems to treat the Pain Continuum from Acute to Chronic. Collaborating the best of pain science education, specific exercise prescriptions and healthy lifestyle eating recommendations. These Words Moves and Foods interventions effectively treat musculoskeletal and neurological pain and spasticity based on the dominating peripheral or central mechanism. The principles from a World of HURT has been widely tested, used in many health care systems and private clinical settings, multidiscipline seminars, and university curricula. Clinicians, payers, and patients all benefit from the common language and insight provided by this resource. Six training courses assure a mechanism classification approach into clinical practice.

Continuing Education Credit: Physical Therapists and Occupational Thearpists in the state of Washington, DC approved for 14 CEUs pending. All information needed for course submission in any state for any profession will be provided to each participant. World of HURT Courses have been accepted in many states by many professsions including ATC, Personal Trainer, OT, OT, Psycholgy, MD, RN, ND, DC, etc

Course PDF: Documents will be emailed to you directly 5-7 days prior to the course. It is recommended to bring a copy of the PDF to the course by printing or electronically so that you can take notes and reference the copy during the course.

Course Questions: Please don't hesitate to reach out to Melissa Watson for any questions regarding the course. She can be reached via phone or text at (513) 518-9239 or email worldofhurt2@gmail.com. For immeediate need, please call or text.

Course Description: This two-day course introduces information critical to the assessment and treatment of patients with acute, subacute, and chronic persistent pain. Translating pain mechanism research into clinical practice this course introduces to clinicians when to use a Pain Mechanism Approach versus a Pathoanatomical Approach. A pain mechanism approach allows classification and treatment of pain as it relates to the peripheral and central nervous system and it’s dominating factors to persistent symptoms. A Pain Mechanism Classification System (PMCS) will be outlined and serve to target selection of patient education and active care interventions for the dominating factors preventing full recovery allowing customization and individualization of care plans. The PMCS assessment will be demonstrated through live patient demonstrations, video, and paper case studies to aid application to clinicians’ practice. This course highlights a subgrouping framework, PMCS, which addresses pain from acute, subacute, and chronic stages covering chemical, structural, mechanical, cognitive, emotional, social, psychological, and cortical factors. This course integrates pain science research into a biopsychosocial dynamic approach utilizing breakout sessions for practical application of patient education and active care interventions. Promoting a common language toward recovery between pain clinicians of all disciplines and patients can transform rehabilitation interventions into patient self-assessment and prevention strategies. Included in this course, breakout sessions of active peripheral nervous system neurodynamic evaluation and treatment and central nervous system sensorimotor evaluation. The PMCS patient education and active care interventions support all patient ages and musculoskeletal to neurological diagnoses suffering from pain.

Course Objectives: At the conclusion of this course, participants should be able to:

1. Differentiate subjective and objective clinical characteristics in nociceptive, peripheral neurogenic, central sensitization, affective and motor/autonomic pain mechanisms.

2. Apply Pain Mechanism and Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment classification principles to neurological patient population.

3. Classify dominant pain mechanism and prescribe patient education and active care intervention to musculoskeletal and neurological patients.

4. Objectively score patient related outcome measures using validated outcome tools.

5. Effectively communicate pain science education with individual treatment and within group model.

6. Effectively evaluate and treat Peripheral Nervous System, Neurodynamic, and Central Nervous System Sensorimotor Dysfunctions.

AGENDA

Day 1, Saturday August 16th: (7.0 CEUs)

7:30 Zoom meeting with start

8:00 Course Introduction – Musculoskeletal Pain Lessons - [WoH: Forward xi]

8:15 Lecture: Risk Assessment for Musculoskeletal Pain – Referral System

8:45 Lecture: Pain Mechanism Classification System (PMCS) – Definitions and Research [WoH: pg 21-23; 28-31]

9:45 Break

10:00 Lecture: Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) Pain Mechanisms Subjective, Objective Characteristics [WoH: pg 102-103]

10:30 Lecture: PNS Patient Education and Active Care Intervention [WoH: pg 77-79,104]

11:15 Lecture: Peripheral Neurogenic Pain Mechanism (PNPM) Subjective & Objective Neurodynamic Evaluation [WoH: pg 102-103, 150-157]

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Workshop: Neurodynamic Evaluation Upper and Lower Limb Active Tests [WoH: pg 158-166]

2:00 Lecture: PNPM Intervention [WoH: 104, 135-144]

2:30 Break

2:45 Workshop: PNS Paper Cases Classification Exercise

3:15 Case Study: Video or Live Patient Demonstration: PNPM

4:15 Questions

Day 2, Sunday August 17h: (7.0 CEUs)

8:00 Lecture: Central Sensitization, Affective, Motor Autonomic Pain Mechanisms Subjective & Objective Characteristics – Patient Education and Active Care Interventions [WoH: pg 222-223; 202-203; 260; 327-328]

9:15 Interactive Workshop: CNS Paper Case Classification Exercise

9:45 Break

10:00 Words Workshop: Central Sensitization and Affective Pain Mechanisms CBT Pain Science Education and Active Care Intervention and Video patient Cases [WoH: pg 204-209, 216-218, 236, 261-263, 272-280, 281, 316, 335-343]; introduce the Yellow Flag Risk Form [WoH: pg 258]; Patient Education handouts [WoH pg ix, 39-40, 82-83, 206-215, 264-265, 269-271, 276-277, 337-338]; Psychometric Test – FABQ [WoH: pg 198-199], PASS [WoH: pg 257], PHQ-9 [WoH: pg 257]

11:30 Lecture: Documentation and Goal Setting

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Interactive CBT Workshop: Role-Playing clinicians and patient pain science topics; Explaining CNS Mechanisms, Traffic light Guide to Movement Safe Pain, Pain Journal, Batteries Exercise

2:00 Break

2:15 Interactive Demonstration: Motor/Autonomic pain Mechanism Left/Right Discrimination Evaluation, Demonstration and Video patient Case [WoH pg 328-335]

3:45 Summary of Pain Mehanisms – “Lamp Analogy – 5 Steps to a Pain Free Life”

4:15 Debrief Day 2: Questions & Answers

4:30 Adjuorn

Primary Instructor: 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 Clinical Account Director for Carelon Medical Benefits Management associated with Elevance Health Back and Joint Pain Program. Annie has co-authored 2019, Pain Mechanism Classification Chapter, Rehabilitation of The Spine: A Patient Center Approach 3e, Liebenson C (ed). Wolters Kluwer Philadelphia publisher. 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 is the publisher and co-author of 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 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 on musculoskeletal 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 for 35 years. She is a member of American Physical Therapy Association in the orthopedic section and canine special interest group, 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 to achieve the best life possible through her Chicago based private practice.

Assistant Instructor: Melissa Watson, MSPT, Cert. MDT received her Master’s in Physical Therapy and her Bachelor’s in Exercise Physiology from Ohio University. Melissa practices at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Burr Ridge Outpatient & DayRehab Center with 23 years of clinical experience in neurological rehabilitation. Melissa is a Senior II Clinician and certified clinical instructor 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 pain and spasticity. She is practicing clinically in the Day Rehabilitation setting with a research interest in pain and applying both pain classification and MDT principles within the neurological population for spasticity. She is currently leading a DayRehab Pain Group Committee where she leads other Day Rehab clinicians on a pain science education group that is focused on pain science education and active care treatment for patients with centrally dominated pain throughout multiple sites of care. She is certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment – McKenzie Method. She is an assistant instructor of the Pain Mechanism Classification System outlined in the book “A World of Hurt: A Guide to Classifying Pain” and uses both subgrouping methods in her neurological clinical practice to guide patient education and exercise prescription to facilitate functional return.

Disclosures: Financial - The instructors Annie O’Connor and Melissa Watson will receive an honarium for teaching from World of Hurt LLC who is sponsoring the course.

**EARLY BIRD AVAILABLE for $50 off = "WOHEARLYBIRD" until May 1st, 2025**