Management of the Injured Worker XV–April7, 2017

Renaissance Nashville Hotel – 611 Commerce Street, Nashville TN

Engaging All Resources in the Treatment and Management of Pain

Educational Goals

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s “Management of the Injured Worker” conference in 2017 will focus on “Engaging all Resources in the Treatment and Management of Pain.”As recent guidelines aim to decrease inappropriate opioid prescribing, this conference will increase awareness about non-opioid treatments, which are available in the fields of pain medicine, physical therapy, integrative medicine, interventional pain management and surgery. Preventing acute pain due to injury from developing into a chronic pain syndrome also requires appropriate intervention for psychological issues and the engagement of employers and employees. This conference should be of interest to our multidisciplinary audience of nurse case managers, claim adjusters, occupational health nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physicians, physical therapists and employer representatives who are involved in treating and managing workers’ compensation patients, and need to work togetherwith the goal of returning injured employees to productive work.

8:00 – 8:15
(15min.) / Introduction & Overview of Pain– Jonas Kalnas, MD, Consultant
Vanderbilt Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Describe features of painand goals for the conference.
8:15 – 9:00
(45 min.) / Engagement of Employers and Employees – John Von arb, Vice President of Corporate Health and
Employer Services, Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network
Describecurrent concepts of engagement to improve job satisfaction and facilitate early return to work, which are factors that help to prevent acute pain from developing into a chronic pain syndrome.
9:00 – 9:45
(45 min.) / Pain Medicine in Practice – Jeffrey Hazlewood, MD, Private Practice, Pain Medicine and Physical
Medicine / Rehabilitation, Lebanon, TN
Describe how a pain medicine specialist coordinates the services of other providers. Describe withdrawalof opioid pain medication, and appropriate use of medications for painful conditions such as headache, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, back pain and complex regional pain.
9:45 – 10:15
(30 min.) / Symptom Exaggeration or Malingering? – James S. Walker, PhD, Private Practice,
Forensic Neuropsychology Services, Nashville, TN
Describe how to determine whether a pain patient is exaggerating symptoms in order to get more attention / treatment or is malingering.
10:15 – 10:30 / Break
10:30 – 11:15
(45 min.) / Physical Therapy for Pain – Melinda Sandy, PT, Clinical Coordinator of Spine, Joint & Trauma Teams,
Vanderbilt Orthopedics Institute Rehabilitation Services
Describe the appropriate use of various physical therapies such as manual therapy, traction, postural correction, exercise, hot/cold packs, transcutaneous electrical stimulation, interferential current,ultrasound, phonophoresis, iontophoresis and laser therapy for pain.
11:15 – 12:00
(45 min.) / Integrative Medicine– Linda Manning, PhD, Interim Director and Katy Hansen, ANC-BC
Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt
Describe psychological aspects of pain, and the use of stress management, mind-body counselling, mindfulness, acupuncture, acupressure, massage,exercise, yoga, and nutrition coaching in treating and managing patients with chronic pain.
12:00 – 12:45 / Lunch
12:45 – 1:30
(45min.) / Interventional Pain Medicine–Kurt Dittrich, MD / Jenna Walters, MD , Division of Pain Medicine,
Vanderbilt Anesthesiology
Describe the appropriate use ofinterventional pain therapies such as injections, pump implants, spinal cord electrical stimulation, intradiscal electrothermy, cryogenic cooling, radiofrequency rhizotomy and neuroablation.
1:30 – 2:15
(45 min.) / Surgery for Back Pain – Byron Stephens, MD
Vanderbilt Orthopedics and Vanderbilt Spine Center
Describe the appropriate use of surgical procedures such as spinal fusion, laminectomy, foraminectomy, diskectomy, disk replacement and interlaminar implant for painful back conditions. Also discuss recent developments in minimally invasive spinal surgery.
2:15 – 3:00
(45min.) / Return to Work Strategies – Melanie Swift, MD, Director, Occupational Health Clinic
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Describe the benefits of early / timely return to work by injured employees, and strategies to facilitate early return to work.
3:00 / Adjourn

Themes for Speakers:

  • Briefly explain the therapy, treatment or procedure.
  • What conditions or body parts is it used for?
  • Is it effective for acute or chronic pain?
  • What are the indications and contraindications?