a World of HURT: A Guide to Classifying Pain Overview Course
About this Event
a World of HURT: A Guide to Classifying Pain — Overview Course
January 30–31, 2027 | In Person + Live Virtual
Join Annie O’Connor and Melissa Watson for this two-day course exploring pain mechanism classification and its application to musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation.
Attend in person at Premier Health Brown Street Clinic in Dayton, Ohio, or join live through Zoom. You will select your attendance format during registration.
Location and Course Times
Premier Health Brown Street Clinic
1715 Brown Street
Dayton, Ohio 45409
Saturday, January 30: 7:30 AM–5:00 PM
Sunday, January 31: 7:30 AM–2:30 PM
All times are Eastern Standard Time (EST). Virtual participants should adjust for their local time zone.
Virtual Attendance
Unable to travel? Participate live through Zoom from wherever you are. Please indicate whether you will attend in person or virtually when you register.
Who Should Attend?
Physical therapists, occupational therapists, therapy assistants, chiropractors, athletic trainers, personal trainers, physicians, naturopathic doctors, nurses, psychologists, and other practitioners involved in treating musculoskeletal or centrally dominated pain and prescribing exercise.
Course Description
This two-day course introduces assessment and treatment principles for patients with acute, subacute, and persistent pain. Translating pain mechanism research into clinical practice, the course explores when to use a pain mechanism approach and how it relates to a pathoanatomical approach.
The Pain Mechanism Classification System (PMCS) provides a framework for identifying dominant peripheral and central mechanisms contributing to symptoms. This framework helps clinicians select patient education and active care interventions that address the factors limiting recovery and individualize treatment plans.
Through lectures, live patient demonstrations, video cases, paper case studies, and interactive workshops, participants will explore chemical, structural, mechanical, cognitive, emotional, social, psychological, and cortical factors influencing pain.
Practical sessions include peripheral nervous system neurodynamic evaluation and treatment, central nervous system sensorimotor evaluation, and strategies for communicating pain science education. Applications span musculoskeletal and neurological populations, including patients experiencing pain and spasticity.
Course Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, participants should be able to:
- Differentiate subjective and objective clinical characteristics of nociceptive, peripheral neurogenic, central sensitization, affective, and motor/autonomic pain mechanisms.
- Apply Pain Mechanism Classification and Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy principles to neurological patient populations.
- Classify the dominant pain mechanism and select patient education and active care interventions for patients with musculoskeletal and neurological conditions.
- Score patient-reported outcome measures using validated assessment tools.
- Communicate pain science education effectively in individual treatment and group settings.
- Evaluate and treat peripheral nervous system neurodynamic and central nervous system sensorimotor dysfunctions.
Continuing Education Credit
This course is approved for 14 CEUs for Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Athletic Trainers in Ohio.
Information needed to support individual course submissions in other states or professions will be provided. Acceptance is determined by the applicable licensing board or credentialing organization.
Course Materials and Textbook
Course registration includes:
- A 200-page PDF of course content and patient education sheets.
- Lectures, active learning workshops, and patient demonstrations.
- Access to instructors for questions and mentoring.
- A course certificate upon completion.
- A discount toward future World of HURT courses.
The course is based on a World of HURT: A Guide to Classifying Pain. Purchasing the textbook before the course is recommended but is not required.
The textbook brings together pain mechanism classification, pain science education, specific exercise prescription, and lifestyle recommendations through the Words, Moves, and Foods framework. It offers a shared language for clinicians and patients and supports clinical reasoning across musculoskeletal and neurological presentations.
Course PDFs will be emailed five days before the course. Please bring a printed or electronic copy so you can follow along and take notes.
Agenda
All agenda times are Eastern Standard Time.
Day 1 — Saturday, January 30, 2027
7:30 AM — Course Introduction: Musculoskeletal Pain Lessons
8:00 AM — Lecture: Risk Assessment for Musculoskeletal Pain and Referral Systems
8:30 AM — Lecture: Pain Mechanism Classification System—Definitions and Research
9:45 AM — Break
10:00 AM — Lecture: Peripheral Nervous System Pain Mechanisms—Subjective and Objective Characteristics
10:30 AM — Lecture: Peripheral Nervous System Patient Education and Active Care Interventions
11:15 AM — Lecture: Peripheral Neurogenic Pain Mechanism—Subjective Assessment and Objective Neurodynamic Evaluation
12:00 PM — Lunch
1:00 PM — Workshop: Upper- and Lower-Limb Active Neurodynamic Evaluation
1:45 PM — Lecture: Peripheral Neurogenic Pain Mechanism Interventions
2:30 PM — Break
2:45 PM — Workshop: Peripheral Nervous System Paper Case Classification
3:30 PM — Case Study: Video or Live Patient Demonstration—Peripheral Neurogenic Pain Mechanism
4:45 PM — Questions and Discussion
5:00 PM — Adjourn
Day 2 — Sunday, January 31, 2027
7:30 AM — Lecture: Central Sensitization, Affective, and Motor/Autonomic Pain Mechanisms—Subjective and Objective Characteristics, Patient Education, and Active Care Interventions
9:00 AM — Interactive Workshop: Central Nervous System Paper Case Classification
9:45 AM — Break
10:00 AM — Words Workshop: Central Sensitization and Affective Pain Mechanisms
Cognitive behavioral approaches, pain science education, active care interventions, and video patient cases. Includes the Yellow Flag Risk Form, patient education handouts, outcome measures such as the FABQ, PASS, and PHQ-9, documentation, and goal setting.
11:30 AM — Interactive Workshop: Clinician–Patient Role-Playing
Practice explaining central nervous system mechanisms, the Traffic Light Guide to Movement and Safe Pain, the Pain Journal, and the Batteries Exercise.
12:00 PM — Lunch
12:45 PM — Interactive Demonstration: Motor/Autonomic Pain Mechanism
Left/right discrimination evaluation, demonstration, and video patient case.
2:15 PM — Summary of Pain Mechanisms: Lamp Analogy and “5 Steps to a Pain Free Life”
2:30 PM — Adjourn
Registration and Pricing
Early Bird: $419 per person sign up before December 7th.
Standard Pricing: $469 per person sign up after December 8th.
Premier Health employees: Use promo code PREMIERHEALTH for $50 off registration.
Students: Current students enrolled in a healthcare program may attend for $199.
One-day attendance: Unable to attend both days? Use promo code WOH50OFF for 50% off registration to attend one day.
Audit or retake: Previously attended the Overview Course? Email [email protected] to request an audit code. We would be happy to welcome you back!
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course. We encourage you to choose the World of HURT courses that best support your clinical practice and professional development.
Registration Email
Please register using the email address where you would like to receive course materials and communications. Some work email systems block Google Drive documents or external messages, so consider this when selecting your registration email.
Meet the Instructors
Primary Instructor: Annie O’Connor, PT, OCS, Cert. MDT
Annie O’Connor is the founder and CEO of a World of Hurt LLC, a consulting, teaching, telehealth, and research company focused on integrating the Pain Mechanism Classification System into clinical practice.
She is the publisher and co-author of a World of HURT: A Guide to Classifying Pain and co-author of the 2016 JMMT article, “Validation of a pain mechanism classification system (PMCS) in physical therapy practice.” Her publications also include chapters on pain mechanism classification in Rehabilitation of the Spine and therapeutic exercise in Orthopaedic Knowledge Update: Spine.
Annie is an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and is certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy through the McKenzie Method. She teaches nationally and internationally on pain mechanism classification, neurodynamic evaluation and treatment, mechanical diagnosis and therapy, and exercise prescription.
During her 35 years at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, now Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, she helped establish the PMCS framework for musculoskeletal pain and neurological spasticity. Her clinical practice includes orthopedic and neurological patients, as well as canine rehabilitation.
Assistant Instructor: Melissa Watson, MSPT, Cert. MDT
Melissa Watson earned her Master’s in Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s in Exercise Physiology from Ohio University. She practices at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Burr Ridge Outpatient and DayRehab Center, with extensive experience in neurological rehabilitation.
As a Senior II Clinician and certified clinical instructor, Melissa mentors clinicians and students in professional and clinical development. Her clinical interests include pain mechanism classification and the application of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy principles to neurological patients experiencing pain and spasticity.
Melissa leads a DayRehab Pain Group Committee supporting pain science education and active care treatment across multiple sites. She is certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy through the McKenzie Method and serves as an assistant instructor for World of HURT courses.
She integrates pain mechanism classification and MDT principles into neurological rehabilitation to guide patient education, exercise prescription, and functional recovery.
Questions?
Please contact [email protected] with questions about registration, attendance options, or course content.
We look forward to learning and collaborating with you!
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 199.00 to USD 419.00
