Complex chronic pain conditions are often difficult to treat and can interfere with a variety of ADL/IADL, vocational, social, and other life tasks. In addition, people with persistent pain often have resulting secondary barriers as a result of disturbances to sleep, energy, mood, activity tolerance, ROM, memory, and various other factors. Research addressing “top down” approaches to pain treatment which utilize neuroplasticity to retrain the nervous system have increasing support in the literature and are an area for clinical practice development for OTs working in a variety of settings.

Part 1 of this two part series focused on the theory behind GMI and the didactic presentation of the stages. Part 2 will focus on applying GMI techniques including pain neuroscience education, laterality/ left right discrimination, motor imagery/ visualization, sensory retraining, and mirror therapy in a hands on lab session. Time will be dedicated to applying treatment interventions to a variety of diagnoses including complex regional pain syndrome, shoulder pain, low back pain, neuropathy, pre- amputation, and others of interest to the participants.

Speaker Bios:  

Lindsay Marth, MA, OTR/L, TPS graduated from the University of MN with a BS in biology and completed her graduate work at St Catherine University (SCU) in 2008. After working in community mental health for 5 years, she joined the Minneapolis VA in 2013 to be part of a multi-disciplinary team hired to build their comprehensive pain center (CPC). She is currently working as a pain clinical specialist in the VA CPC and as assistant faculty for International Spine and Pain Institute (ISPI). She has completed her certification as a Therapeutic Pain Specialist through ISPI/EIM. Lindsay also serves as an adjunct professor at SCU, instructing in their weekend MAOT program. Lindsay is an AOTA and MOTA member and is involved in the MOTA Government Affairs Committee and OT for the Advancement of MN Mental Health Services (OTAMMHS). 

Maggie Manning, MS OTR/L graduated from the University of MN with a BS in Kinesiology and went on to complete her graduate work at Sacred Heart University in 2014. After a brief period of working in a sensory integration clinic, she found her passion in working with our veterans at the Minneapolis VA. She is excited to start her new role in the Minneapolis VA in the Comprehensive Pain Center after working in their sub-acute rehabilitation center for three years

Learning Objectives:
Through engagement in this educational session participants will be able to:
 1. Recall the core stages and rationale of GMI with a brief review.
 2. Demonstrate through hands on lab basic skills and tools involved in implementation in the clinic.
 3. Identify ways to modify intervention to meet a variety of common complex pain conditions for both outpatient and inpatient settings.