A goal leading to improving motion analysis and therapy

Chronic or persistent pain, is pain that carries on for longer than 12 weeks despite medication or treatment. Most people get back to normal after pain following an injury or operation. But sometimes the pain carries on for longer or comes on without any history of an injury or operation. (NHS 2023) According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP 2023), chronic pain is defined as “pain that persists or recurs for longer than three months.”  

  

Long-lasting musculoskeletal pain is characterized by reduced physical function, often linked with anxiety and depression, and with increased risk of developing other health conditions, early retirement, reduced wealth, and social participation, and increased all-cause mortality (WHO 2022).  

  

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience which is interpreted through the life history. What is the subjective meaning of pain is essential to understand. Chronic pain affects the whole person. In multidisciplinary holistic rehabilitation, it is essential to take care of the patient’s psychological distress. (Ojala et al. 2014)  

  

Factors causing and sustaining long-lasting musculoskeletal pain differ between patients, but must be identified in order to target treatment. During physiotherapy, there are multiple factors influencing the treatment outcome. (Dragesund & Oien 2021) Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapy (NPMP) is commonly applied for patients with long-lasting pain and complex health complaints. (Dragesund & Oien 2023)  

  

Norwegian psychomotor therapy is an holistic approach to the patient and based on a bio-psychosocial model of health. The body was seen first and foremost as an integrated harmonious unit. Symptoms were regarded as an expression of imbalance in the body, a sign that there was something wrong with the body as a whole. When working with the whole body painful symptoms disappear. (Thornquist & Bunkan 1991)   

  

It is based on the premise that stress resulting from physical, psychological and social situations may have effects on the body. Affecting muscle tension, breathing, posture, flexibility, balance, and movements. During assessment and treatment, all these elements are considered in order to achieve effective management. (Probst & Skjaerven 2017)  

  

Learning objectives:   

  

1. To get familiar with Norwegian psychomotor therapy as an holistic rehabilitation approach in the case of chronic pain patient.   
2. To have a basic idea about a level of psychomotor functioning of patient through the assessment of respiration, posture and movements patterns    
3. To improve clinical reasoning skills  

  

  

The competence is gained through the lesson to evaluate whether there is an indication to Norwegian Pyschomotor Therapy or not and how to execute the assessment taking carefully into consideration non-verbal communication.  

  

Norwegian Psychomotor therapy approach is explained more widely in e-manual.