Ep39: Assessing and Treating Neuropathic Pain (Part 1): Current and Emerging Approaches with Dr. Tara Packham

In this episode, we talked about:

1. Non-pharmacological management options for neuropathic pain
2. All about the Somatosensory Pain Rehab method
3. The current research on Somatosensory Pain Rehab

Dr. Tara Packham is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience in hand and upper limb rehabilitation, and an assistant professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences (SRS) at McMaster University.  Tara’s program of research focuses on assessing and addressing persistent pain, and continuing to advance the field of hand rehabilitation.  Tara has published and presented extensively for both hand rehabilitation and pain management audiences on persistent pain conditions impacting the upper extremity.  Her research spans development and evaluation of outcome measures, refining and testing interventions, and exploring the experiences of persons with health challenges accessing rehabilitation.  She is the Editor in Chief at Hand Therapy  and currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Hand Therapy and Pain Medicine, and on the executive of the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Special Interest Group at the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Resources

1. Patient support groups for CRPS: Canada - PARC: Promoting Awareness of RSD and CRPS in Canada  https://www.rsdcanada.org/parc/english/index.html / USA - RSDSA https://rsds.org/ 
2. Packham, T. L., Spicher, C. J., MacDermid, J. C., Michlovitz, S., & Buckley, D. N. (2018). Somatosensory rehabilitation for allodynia in complex regional pain syndrome of the upper limb: A retrospective cohort study. Journal of Hand Therapy, 31(1), 10-19.
3. Somatosensory Pain Rehabilitation Network: https://www.neuropain.ch/en/home
4. Hebert, A., MacDermid, J., Harris, J., & Packham, T. (2024). How should we treat painful sensitivity in the hand? An international e-Delphi study. Journal of Hand Therapy, 37(1), 12-21.
5. Shafiee, E., MacDermid, J., Packham, T., Grewal, R., Farzad, M., Bobos, P., & Walton, D. (2023). Rehabilitation interventions for complex regional pain syndrome: an overview of systematic reviews. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 39(9), 473-483.

Social Media

1. X: @TaraLPackham
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-packham-21918924/ 
3. IMPRinT lab: https://painmovementresearch.healthsci.mcmaster.ca/ 

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