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B.C. RMTs partner with pain society for conference on chronic pain management

Oct. 3, 2013 – The Massage Therapists’ Association of British Columbia (MTABC) has teamed up with local non-profit society, Pain BC, to present Pain Management Conference 2014, to be held March 28 and 29, 2014.

October 3, 2013  By Massage Therapy Canada staff


The two-day conference is designed for health-care professionals who
wish to learn the latest tools and techniques in the management of
chronic pain through manipulative and movement therapies.

The
conference, which will be held at the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel in
Richmond, B.C., reflects the increasingly important role that registered
massage therapists (RMTs) are playing in reducing the burden of chronic
pain in this province, the MTABC said. Chronic pain is pain that lasts
more than three months past the time normally expected to heal from
injury, surgery or illness.

“Of the tens of thousands of British
Columbians who visit RMTs throughout the year, many do so seeking relief
from persistent, often debilitating pain,” explained MTABC executive
director, Brenda Locke.

“Massage therapy is well-regarded as an
effective tool for treatment of soft tissue injuries and generally
improving physical and emotional well-being. We hope that this
conference helps highlight the fact that manipulative and movement
therapies are also important pain management tools. A full one in five
British Columbians live with chronic pain. We are thrilled to partner
with Pain BC to ensure that our over 2,000 RMT members, and other
health-care practitioners, are up to date on the latest research and
techniques to help as many people in pain as possible.”

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The Pain
Management Conference will feature keynote presentations by
international pain experts, presenting their work on the latest
available pain research, as well as practical methods and tools that
attendees can incorporate into their day-to-day practice. Through
evidence-based research, therapists’ will update their knowledge,
attitudes, and skills so that they may respond more effectively, safely
and with greater empathy to those living with chronic pain, the MTABC
said.

“Chronic pain is a personally devastating and very costly
problem whose time has come in B.C. Helping to educate health-care
practitioners so that they may better assess and manage their patients’
pain is a critical part of Pain BC’s mission,” said Maria Hudspith,
executive director of Pain BC.

“We are delighted to partner with
MTABC on this conference. We see it as a tremendous opportunity to
reach out to RMTs, whom we regard as very well positioned, ‘hands on’
practitioners on the front lines. We are confident this training will
make a big difference in improving both the practices of RMTs, and the
quality of life of people struggling to live with pain that doesn’t
end.”

For more information on Pain Management Conference 2014, please visit the conference website.

The MTABC is the non-profit association for registered massage therapists in British Columbia.

Pain
BC is a non-profit society made up of patients, health-care providers,
physicians and others with a shared passion for reducing the burden of
pain in B.C. through engagement, education, advocacy and knowledge
translation.


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