Lorimer Moseley spoke to the Canadian physiotherapy profession today

It might have been noticed by followers of this blog (both of you...) that I haven't blogged about the Melzack paper over the last few days. This is because I'm here in Montreal, attending CPA Congress 2013 (#CPACongress2013 on twitter). 

As long as I'm part of the PainScienceDivision, I'll need to attend meetings at Congress. Which is great. Especially when Lorimer Moseley (@bodyinmind on twitter) is doing a plenary session! 

Lorimer Moseley, holding his rubber hand

His hour long session was this morning. It was titled, "200 billion reasons to train your brain." (I have no idea where that figure came from..) Let's face it. Moseley is a PT rockstar. He has done more to move PT along toward taking on and dealing directly with pain science than any other PT in our profession's history. I mean, there are many distinguished PTs in pain research, but somehow this goofy self-deprecating Aussie with a lopsided grin, many droll stories about pain, knack for telling them, and a canny way of inserting them into presentations to serve as teaching tools, has charmed the profession out of the mesodermal coma it was born into - at least it looks like he might have.

Moseley was quite open in his admiration of the way the Canadian Physiotherapy Association is well-run, well-organized; he judged this by how its outgoing president Rob Werstine received a standing ovation today as he ended his term. Moseley is pleased that CPA has taken on pain this decade! How it's willing to learn that pain's in the brain! 

I think everyone there was WELL-convinced by Moseley's exemplary plenary session: in just a single hour, Moseley was able to reach the profession's entire political leadership in Canada. 

PSD laid dry kindling under the profession when we became a division in 2008, all set to ignite: this weekend Lorimer lit the match!!* CPA gets it now - it really gets what we were going on about almost 10 years ago, why our little group (Neil Pearson, Dave Walton, and I) were on about, when we said, "We want to start a pain division." One could hear snatches of conversation in the elevators after - "Pain - in the brain.. wow.."

AN IMPORTANT TIDBIT FROM HIS TALK

Of the top 10 major health issues thought to be the biggest challenges to our (rapidly aging!) population in the near future, chronic pain and associated conditions occupy four slots. Cancer is 40th down the list.

MY TAKE

PT in Canada is positioned for advance - we have direct access in place everywhere, we have the organizational steam to continue, we're in good shape as THE profession most ready to take on the challenge of pain, publicly and privately, in a cost-effective manner: this will be important as our economy shrinks, or barely holds its own.

[Next step, according to me: CPA galvanizes to convince government and the public to place even more trust in PT than they already have, persuades them to consider less biomedical explanatory models of pain, and treatment for pain].

PAIN SCIENCE DIVISION

Pain Science Division is in position. We saw this coming a long time ago. We are ready, willing, able to help the profession on-goingly meet the challenge. We started out in 2004 with three people, one of whom was in the process of acquiring a PhD. We became 8 people, 4 with PhDs and another on his way to attaining it. [Alas, we are losing two PhDs this weekend, but they said they'll stay close.]

At first CPA said no, but later (2008) they said yes. 

Before then we had Mike Sangster, Eric Matheson, Deb Patterson, Lesley Singer, Bas Asselbergs in addition to the original trio. A few people withdrew. When the group was recognized as a division, it morphed: Neil was chair, Dave chair elect and newsletter editor. When Dave took over chair, Susan Tupper became newsletter editor. Geoffry Bostick came along when research representative position was added. Bas rejoined as secretary, and Timothy Wideman was elected chair elect. Lesley Singer was re-elected as treasurer. I am still part of the exec, as communications liaison. 

This weekend we added Jordan Miller (new newsletter editor, as Susan's term ended). Tim is now acting chair and Dave is past chair. We have about 500 paying members. We have about 1800 (rough guess) members when we include all the student members in Canada who receive our newsletters.

I am beyond thrilled to travel with such a great group of people into the future of PT in Canada. I am in awe that such a great team self-assembled to move PT into its future of being organized to deal with the complexity of people in pain. I'm really proud of the way this group grew itself up.

Pain Science Division, past and current members**, with Lorimer Moseley, CPA Congress May 2013

AND NOW, BACK TO MELZACK...

After I return home I'll resume my meander where I left off. Today is a bit of a lazy day, hanging out in the hotel room. Tomorrow I'll attend Lorimer's day long session at PhysioActif here in Montreal. An entire day of Lorimer - that should keep me going for quite awhile.

.........................

*We (PSD) aren't sure quite how Lorimer got the gig, or how CPA got Lorimer... It wasn't arranged through us, but no matter - we were ecstatic when we heard the news, and managed to arrange for him to come early to address our own division AGM for a half hour or so, yesterday afternoon before the big dinner dance party, Local Flavour Night. He had lovely things to say about how advanced Canadian PT was to have our division up and running, that we were inspiration for PT elsewhere in the world, etc.etc.. nice things. Confirmation. Affirmation. Every meeting, every connection, every reunion, every newsletter, email, skype meeting, every talk, presentation, slideshow, every little drop helps. Maybe even every little blogpost.

**CPA Pain Science Division with Lorimer Moseley, May 2013. 

Left to right: 

• Bas Asselbergs, Barrie Ont. (Secretary)
• Susan Tupper, Saskatoon Sask. (Past newsletter ed.)
• Geoff Bostick, Edmonton Alt. (Division Research Rep.)
• Lorimer Moseley, Adelaide, Australia (International PT Pain Research rockstar)
• Dave Walton, London, Ont. (Past chair)
• Tim Wideman, Montreal, PQ (Current chair)
• Lesley Singer, Montreal, PQ (Treasurer)
• Diane Jacobs, Weyburn, Sask. (Communications Liaison)
• Jordan Miller, Orangeville, Ontario (Newsletter Editor)
• In front: Neil Pearson, Vernon, BC (past chair)
• Missing: Deb Patterson, Sharon, Ont. (past secretary)