Practical
Program
Preconference course 1 (full day): Effective Communication and Cultural Competence in Managing Non-Specific Musculoskeletal Pain
Enhance your ability to work effectively with culturally diverse patients. This interactive course focuses on culturally responsive communication, therapeutic alliance, and integration of cultural competence into daily practice. Participants will develop concrete skills to improve engagement, trust, and treatment outcomes across cultural contexts.
Target audience: Physiotherapists, pain researchers, and other rehabilitation professionals working with people with musculoskeletal pain.
Preconference course 2 (full day): Beyond Pain – Physical Activity, Intensity & Recovery in Chronic Pain
Learn how physical activity and exercise intensity influence pain mechanisms, recovery, and overall health. Through short lectures, demonstrations, and live HRV monitoring, this interactive course integrates high-intensity interval training (HIIT), autonomic monitoring, and activity management to support evidence-based exercise prescription in chronic pain populations.
Target audience: Clinicians, rehabilitation professionals, and early-career researchers interested in the link between exercise and pain mechanisms.
Preconference course 3 (full day): Pain Science Education – a versatile intervention
Explore how Pain Science Education (PSE) can be applied beyond traditional chronic pain contexts. This course dives into PSE for chronic musculoskeletal injuries, perioperative care, and breast cancer rehabilitation, providing both theoretical insights and practical strategies to tailor education to diverse patient populations.
Target audience: Clinicians (physiotherapists and others) and researchers interested in PSE.
Program
Morning
- Keynote 1: Prof. Dr. Michel Mertens "When the shoulder tells a bigger story: Rethinking musculoskeletal pain from a systemic perspective."
- Oral parallel sessions and/or poster walks.
Afternoon
- Keynote 2: Prof. Dr. Carol J Clark "Women's health in the context of pain"
- Meet the expert sessions.
- Oral parallel sessions and/or poster walks.
Program
Morning
- Keynote 3: Prof. Dr. Lorimer Moseley "Extending modern pain science education to other chronic overprotection disorders"
- Oral parallel sessions and/or poster walks.
Afternoon
- Keynote 4: Prof. Dr. Colette Ridehalgh "Advances in nerve-related Musculoskeletal pain: a Physiotherapist’s slant"
- Meet the expert sessions.
- Oral parallel sessions and/or poster walks.
Closing + awards ceremony.