Rehabilitation Services Manager
America is in pain. Current data indicates 100 million people in the US suffer from some form of persistent pain – despite injections, surgery, and opioid medications increasing at alarming rates. This has led to costs of at least $560-$635 billion per year. The evidence for non-pharmalogical therapeutic approaches in treating people with pain is ever-increasing.
The International Spine and Pain Institute (ISPI) and Evidence in Motion (EIM) have joined forces to create an evidence-informed educational course for physical therapists to help address the US pain epidemic from a multidisciplinary national perspective; and to ensure all healthcare providers have updated knowledge of pain science. Bonnie Will has completed this 12-hour credit course to become certified as a therapeutic pain specialist.
The late Patrick Wall, MD, PhD, one of the world’s iconic pain specialists, proposed physical therapy to be the ideal profession to treat pain. Physical therapists are ideally suited to help people with persistent pain by combining patient education, movement, time with patients, easy access, and biological knowledge.
In recent years there have been significant advances in pain science. Current best-evidence strongly supports the combination of education, exercise, pacing and graded exposure as key elements in treating chronic pain. JMHS’ therapeutic pain program incorporates all of these elements into an individualized treatment program for those dealing with chronic pain.
Bonnie Will PT/DPT, ATR is the Rehabilitation Services Manager at Johnson Memorial Health Services. She has over 18 years of experience as a Physical Therapist. She is a NATA Certified Athletic Trainer and has worked as an athletic trainer and personal trainer. Bonnie completed her Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy in 1998 and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2007.
If you have any questions or concerns about an injury or are suffering from chronic pain, please contact JMHS’s Physical Therapy department at call 320-312-2128.