Pain Management in Naturopathic Practice
Christian Dodge, ND – Diagnosing and Managing Pain in a Primary Care Practice
Highlight the importance of properly assessing pain etiology via accurate diagnosis to allay patient uncertainty, clarify prognosis, identify obstacles, and better target therapeutics.
Review techniques for refining diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, and also acknowledging the limitations of diagnostics in many cases of pain assessment
Discussion of the multiple layers of pain genesis including primary tissue pathology, biochemical factors, neurologic sensitization, and cognitive/emotional amplifiers.
Survey strategies for managing pain in the primary care setting.
Michael Brown, DC, MD – Radiculopathic and Myofascial Pain Syndromes: Gunn IMS and Dry Needling Techniques, Evaluation and Management
This course covers current updates in understanding of myofascial pain, fibromyalgia, radiculopathic pain syndromes in a comprehensive discourse on various myofascial pain syndromes and their treatment utilizing dry needling. The course includes hands-on experience taught Michael N. Brown, DC, MD, DABPMR-PAIN one of only two sanctioned by C. Chan Gunn, MD to teach Gunn IMS is the US. Dr. Brown will integrate his knowledge and experience in rehabilitative medicine, orthopedics, Olympic sports medicine, manual medicine, and biomechanics into the course for a comprehensive review of this topic.
Dawn Ipsen, PharmD – Review of Non-Opiate Pain Medications
What is a patient to do when the ‘gold standard’ for pain treatment has failed them? What happens when the side effects from a pain medication outweigh the benefit the medication was providing? What tools are in a provider’s ‘tool box’ to give this patient an improved quality of life? Compounded, transdermal medications may provide some of the answers to these questions! We will go through the basics of pain, types of pain and evaluation for appropriateness of transdermal, compounded pain medications. We will talk about the transdermal delivery system its self, the ideal drug for transdermal delivery and possible algorithm for treating various types of pain. We will also delve into traditional uses and doses, as well as, side effect profiles of these same medications.
Letitia Dick, ND – (two presentations) Naturopathic Management of Acute and Chronic Pain, and Withdrawing Patients from Medications
Traditional Naturopathic care of patients with acute or chronic pain will be discussed. Water fasting, constitutional hydrotherapy, classical herbal formulas and other modalities with patient cases will be reviewed. Many patients are on concomitant prescriptions for depression, insomnia, and/or anxiety. The cycle of medication usage to suppress symptoms must be broken and healthy life-style and diet must be re-taught. This presentation will include the tricky business of bringing patients off of their poly-pharmacy; substituting nutraceuticals when needed, or utilizing homeopathy as intervention. Newer approaches to pain therapy will also be discussed including bio-puncture, cold laser, and Naltrexone Rx. My personal experience with nature cure therapeutics for pain and injury has provided me with in-sight into many options for the healing of acute and chronic pain and their causes.
Chris Kleronomos, ARNP, DAOM – (two presentations) Herbs for Chronic Pain: Current Evidence and Rationale and An Introduction to Apitherapy: Bee Venom Overview and Mechanisms
The herbal lecture will review basic mechanisms for chronic pain and review the current cumulative evidence for particular herbs. It will identify appropriate clinical targets and rationale for use. The lecture will include safety and potential DDI.
The apitherapy lecture will explore basic concepts of Apitherapy and briefly review the main products of the Hive. It will focus on the use of Bee Venom for chronic pain and the rationale for its use. It will review the current state of knowledge in respect to biochemical and physiologic mechanisms and how it relates to chronic pain.
Jake Felice, ND – The Science of Medical Cannabis
As more and more states change marijuana laws, medical cannabis is being taken seriously as a useful, safe and superior remedy for a huge variety of problems plaguing medical patients today. No other pain relieving medication is less toxic than cannabis, not even aspirin or Tylenol. This is why cannabis as medicine can be an excellent choice for pain and other disease states.
Modern research suggests that cannabis can be a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of medical conditions. These include chronic pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, dementia, PTSD, nausea, spasticity, and movement disorders. Cannabis is a powerful appetite stimulant, and can help patients suffering from dangerous weight loss. Emerging research suggests that marijuana’s medicinal properties may also protect the body against some types of malignant tumors.
Medical cannabis does not have to be smoked, nor do patients have to get high to experience pain relief. Please join cannabis expert and naturopathic physician, Dr. Jake Felice for a discussion on the science of medical cannabis.
Purchase
You can purchase the entire series for 12 CEUs (Members: $245, Non-Members: $325) or Without CE credits for $100. (Individual lectures are $15 each or $100 for the entire set).
You can also purchase individual lectures for CEUs (Members: $30 per lecture, Non-Members: $45 per lecture) or Without CE credits ($15 per lecture).
Please fill out the form below to purchase.