Trauma-Informed Assessment and Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Pain
Presented by James M. Elliott and David M. Walton
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Nonfinancial: James M. Elliott has no competing nonfinancial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.
Financial: David M. Walton receives compensation from MedBridge for the production of this course. He is the coauthor of Musculoskeletal Pain: Assessment, Prediction and Treatment and is an employee at Western University Canada.
Nonfinancial: David M. Walton has no competing nonfinancial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.
Clinical assessment and evaluation of human symptoms and function are necessary parts of person-centered and targeted rehabilitation practice. However, evaluation also involves an implicit element of judgment regarding the “normality” of another person. This is an example of how power imbalances are enacted and reinforced in clinical practice. This course will introduce learners to concepts, tools, and techniques of trauma-informed practice that can be implemented during clinical assessment and evaluation toward an ethic of partnership and empowerment for all.
Meet your instructors
James M. Elliott
James completed his PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia (UQ) in 2007 and a post-doctoral fellowship (2008-2010) at UQ. The focus of his interdisciplinary laboratory is to quantify altered spinal cord anatomy and whole-body skeletal muscle degeneration as potential markers of recovery following spinal trauma. He…
David M. Walton
David Walton (@uwo_dwalton) completed his BScPT in physical therapy at the University of Western Ontario in 1999, an MSc in neuroscience in 2001, and a PhD in health and rehabilitation science from Western in 2010. Following a combined 10 years of clinical practice, he is now an associate professor in the School of Physical…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Defining Trauma and Its Relevance to Assessment and Evaluation
In this chapter, we introduce the important concepts to be expanded on in subsequent chapters. These include introductions to the topic, including definitions and epidemiology of trauma in North America, and couch the concepts of assessment and evaluation within a brief historical context of rehabilitation as a distinct healthcare profession.
2. Principles of Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care
This chapter introduces the concept of trauma-informed care from the perspective of rehabilitation professionals. This will include descriptions and operational definitions of best practice, including the value of a “universal precautions” approach to managing and mitigating re-traumatization.
3. Reflecting on Power and Trauma in Pain Assessment
This chapter will discuss pragmatic examples of tools and practices for self- and institutional reflection, identification of power imbalances, and ways to start the conversation around enacting more trauma-informed practices in your clinical context.
4. Reimagining a Trauma- and Violence-Informed Approach to Assessment and Evaluation of the Person in Pain
In this final chapter, we consider ways of conducting a trauma-informed assessment of the patient in pain using a “universal precautions” approach.
