136: The Future of Pain Management

What’s around the corner? This edition of Airing Pain platforms four internationally recognised clinicians from the British Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting  Recently healthcare technology and innovation has seen a rapid acceleration, particularly following disruption caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. In this edition we look around the corner and examine the most current technological advances for pain therapy, especially those that can be used with or even in replacement of conventional medical treatments. The Airing Pain team attended the British Pain Society ASM in 2022, to listen and interview top thought-leaders on pain technology advancements and the projects they are working on. Hear them introduce their specialist areas of: new scientific evidence for fibromyalgia; neuropathic pain in the form of phantom limb and post-surgery back pain; and cutting-edge developments in neuromodulation techniques, specifically non-invasive Virtual Reality and Gaming for treating neurological distortions.  Contributors:  Dr Stephen Ward, Chair of Scientific Committee, St Thomas Hospital London  Dr Simon Thomson, Consultant, Pain Medicine and Neuromodulation, Mid and South Essex University Hospitals NHS Trust  Dr Owen Williamson, Pain Medicine Specialist, School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University Vancouver British Columbia  Dr Timothy Deer, Interventional Pain Doctor West Virginia and President of The Spine and Nerve Centers  Time Stamps: 0:20 – Introductory quotes of internationally recognised Clinicians from the British Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). 1:24 - Introduction by Paul Evans to British Pain Society ASM attendance. 1:58 - Dr Stephen Ward, Chair of Scientific Committee, St Thomas Hospital London, on emerging scientific evidence for the study of Fibromyalgia. 5:16 - Dr Simon Thomson, Consultant, Pain Medicine and Neuromodulation, Mid and South Essex University Hospitals NHS Trust introducing the basics of neuromodulation and neuropathic pain, using secondary back pain as an example. 11:10 – Dr Simon Thomson on the process of Spinal Cord stimulation and equipment. 18:33 - Dr Owen Williamson, Pain Medicine Specialist, School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University Vancouver British Columbia, on virtual reality (VR) for chronic pain treatment, particularly the uses of VR for painful distortions. 25:05 – Dr Owen Williamson on his talk titled ‘Modifying the Matrix: Virtual Reality’ at the British Pain Society ASM. 30:22 – Dr Owen Williamson on potential drawbacks to using VR Therapy. Followed by a discussion of mitigation techniques; artificial intelligence and body sensors for patient-monitoring in virtual environments.32:56 - Invitation to fill out our Online Survey 32:42 – Introducing Dr Timothy Deer, Interventional Pain Doctor West Virginia and President of The Spine and Nerve Centers of the Virginias on the future of personalised management and remote home programming to benefit those living with chronic pain. 39:08 - Dr Owen Williamson discussing the optimistic yet cautionary future of virtual reality and wider emerging technologies for pain therapy; the importance of preserving empathy as typically found in the doctor-patient relationship. Special Thanks:  This edition of Airing Pain was possible thanks to support from the British Pain Society. More Information: Airing Pain 61: Deciding TogetherPain Matters 73: Neuropathic Pain IssueManage Your Pain leafletChronic Pain and Health Inequalities