The Biopsychosocial Approach in Athletes Experiencing Pain

Course overview

Pain is common in athletes, and biomedical models tying injury to pain are often used to teach athletes about pain. These models are very limited, and there is a poor correlation between pain and injury-especially in athletes. It is now well established that many athletes experience injury or tissue issues yet experience little to no pain. Pain is very complex, and a biopsychosocial approach is needed to fully understand and explain pain in athletes. A key element in pain is the brain, or, more precisely, the brain's processing of the experience-the pain neuromatrix. During a pain experience, multiple areas of the brain become busy, forming a network of connections referred to as the pain neuromatrix, which individualizes a human's pain experience. The brain increasingly gets busy, which impacts pain, function, and ultimately sports performance in athletes. This course is a great step into the world of pain science for clinicians treating athletes of all kinds in different stages of life and injury.