21st Annual Pain Medicine Meeting

ASRA Pain Medicine’s vision is to “Relieve the Global Burden of Pain,” and this event is intended to deliver on that goal. With an impressive list of faculty experts in chronic pain and neuromodulation from around the world - and a growing number of international attendees over the last several years – this meeting’s reach is intended to extend beyond the traditional three-day conference. Under a meeting theme of “Making Connections,” our multidisciplinary faculty will hail from nearly every continent to share their expertise on fresh and timely topics, whether it’s injuries in the workplace, equity in neuromodulation, or immigrant and refugee health. All eyes are on the future as we explore pressing questions in pain care from macro to micro: what is the role of the brain and consciousness in the development of — and treatment of — chronic pain? Can pain patterns be mapped? Will neuromodulation devices become small enough to be implanted in a quick office procedure? Have we overlooked controlled substances as potential alleviators of pain? Will new, minimally invasive techniques surpass the traditional options of steroids or surgery?

One of our biggest innovations this year is the development of ASRA Pain Medicine Tracks. Each day, we will highlight two of six tracks: Head and Neck, Peripheral Nerve and Joint, Spine Health, Chronic Pain Syndromes, Holistic Care (including Cancer and Pediatrics), and the Big Picture (including Economics and Global & Community Health). ASRA Pain Medicine Tracks are intended to streamline the most concentrated learning experiences for attendees, offering the highest exposure to expert faculty and likeminded attendees for the best networking and learning experiences. Our practice management program will be disbursed throughout each track so attendees can leave armed with practical tips for implementing their new skills and knowledge.

With a global mission comes a commitment to diversity in every form. Special attention has been paid to be inclusive of gender, experience, and race in our panels. Programming is focused on relieving health inequities for patients, including how to provide the most comprehensive care within current practice constraints. We also will include representation from important perspectives in pain management: patients, spine surgery, neurology, physiatry, research, legal, advanced practice nursing and physician assistants, radiology, psychology, and more.

If there’s one thing we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we are more in need of authentic connection than ever before. Whether it’s seeing old friends again or making an unlikely acquaintance, we hope that the people coming together in Orlando will make magic happen that will affect the course of pain care for years to come.

Speakers: Magdalena Anitescu, Chad Brummett, Alexios Carayannopoulos, Steven Cohen, Maxim Eckmann, Maged Guirguis, Christine Hunt, Maged Minda, Nagy Mekhail, Amy Pearson, Philip Peng, David Provenzano, Brian Sites, Dmitri Souza, Kevin Vorenkamp