Peter O’Sullivan to bring workshop on cognitive functional therapy and low back pain to London

Renowned musculoskeletal physiotherapist Peter O’Sullivan will leave sunny Western Australia behind in March 2023 to deliver a three-day workshop in London for health care practitioners who treat people with low back pain.

Peter is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor at the School of Allied Health Sciences at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. He was awarded the title of ‘specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist’ by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2005.

The three-day workshop – titled Cognitive Functional Therapy: A person-centred behavioural approach for people with disabling low back pain – starts on 24 March and ends on 26 March.

Student discounts available 

Organised by Chelmsford-based physiotherapist James Davis, the course takes place at the Royal Free Hospital in north London and costs £385. Those who complete the course will receive CPD certificates and discounts are available for full-time and postgraduate students.

Clinical guidelines recommend for people with persistent disabling back pain, once serious pathology has been excluded, that clinicians identify and target treatment toward the physical and psychological barriers to recovery

Peter’s international reputation as a leading clinician, researcher and educator in musculoskeletal (MSK) pain disorders means the course is bound to popular. It will also be his first workshop to be delivered face-to-face in three years.

The publicity material states: ‘There is growing evidence that back pain is a complex bio-psycho-social disorder. There are many unhelpful beliefs about back pain, that lead people in pain to become fearful, distressed, protective and avoidant. Understanding the multidimensional factors that underpins back pain, and developing skills to identify and target them allows for effective management.'

It adds: 'Clinical guidelines recommend for people with persistent disabling back pain, once serious pathology has been excluded, that clinicians identify and target treatment toward the physical and psychological barriers to recovery.’

What is cognitive functional therapy (CFT)?

'CFT was developed as a person-centred behavioural approach for individualising the management of disabling low back pain (LBP). The approach evolved from an integration of foundational behavioural psychology and neuroscience within physical therapist practice. It is underpinned by a multidimensional clinical reasoning framework in order to identify the modifiable and nonmodifiable factors associated with an individual’s disabling LBP.

'It incorporates a person-centred approach to identify and target unhelpful cognitions, emotions, movement and lifestyle behaviours that drive pain and disability. The aim is coach people with disabling back pain to effectively self-manage their condition. There is growing evidence for the efficacy of cognitive functional therapy for reducing pain and disability in people with disabling low back pain.'

Workshop topics include

• the problem of low back pain
• identification of specific pathology
• once serious pathology is excluded, multi-dimensional factors associated with back pain
• key elements for person centred communication
• clinical interview exploring the person's story, their beliefs, emotions and behavioural responses to pain
• physical examination including the application of behavioural experiments
• clinical reasoning framework
• cognitive functional therapy intervention: making sense of pain; exposure with control; lifestyle changes; coaching towards self-management including flareups
• evidence and obstacles for CFT

'Peter's passion' (from the publicity material)

‘Peter’s passion is to bridge the gap between research and practice – in order to empower clinicians and people in pain. With his team Peter developed Cognitive functional therapy – a physiotherapy-led individualised behavioural approach to manage disabling musculoskeletal pain.’

Peter tweeted about the workshop on 4 December: 'My first face to face workshop for 3 years. Providing patient centred care to empower people with disabling back pain to effectively self manage their condition is a challenging space.' @PeteOsullivanPT

The closing date for registration and payment is 5pm on 10 March 2023.

To find out more, visit: https://www.jamesdavisphysio.co.uk/pos-2023/