Do Nutritional Factors Play a Role in Central Sensitization and Chronic Pain?
Acute pain has long been understood as beneficial throughout evolution as it enables us to both identify and prevent encounters with harmful stimuli. However, once pain progresses to a chronic state it can cause a variety of issues for the individual and society as a whole. Up to 30% of the Western population is estimated […]
Physical Therapists’ Perceptions of Learning and Implementing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to Treat Chronic Pain: A Pilot Study on the Integrative Pain Science Institute Experience
Chronic pain presents a physical and psychological burden for millions of Americans, and is a global health pandemic. This burden has been worsened by the widespread emphasis placed on a biomedical approach that largely neglects to address the psychosocial components and processes of chronic pain. This omission has led to poorly managed pain, the chronification […]
3 Ways Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Can Prevent Burnout in Physical Therapists Who Treat Pain
Did you know that up to 41% of healthcare workers experience symptoms of burnout? (1) If you have experience working in health care, this may not be hard to believe. It can be challenging work due to productivity standards, documentation requirements, and student loan debt. Burnout has been defined as “exhaustion resulting from excessive demands […]
The Six Core Processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and How They Improve Physical Therapy Outcomes
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is rooted in psychological flexibility, which is the ability to contact the present moment more fully as a conscious human being, and to change or persist in behavior when doing so serves valued ends. Psychological flexibility can be broken down into the 6 core processes of ACT. These processes can […]
How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be used to promote exercise and physical activity
It is well established that self-management is at the center of the recommended approach for treatment of patients with chronic pain which may include aspects such as increased participation in physical activity and exercise (1). It has also been shown that patients with chronic pain may be more likely to take a passive role in […]
3 ways Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is beneficial for the treatment of pain & PT
Although Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) was not originally designed to specifically treat pain, it is now a well-established treatment for patients with chronic pain (1). ACT is a third-wave cognitive based therapy that aims to modify behavioral avoidance patterns in situations that are uncomfortable or unpleasant. This is not achieved by changing cognitions, beliefs or […]
