PAC is pleased to announce our 2022 Symposium with options to attend both in person in Winnipeg, MB through real-time streaming. Our co-chairs, Kelly Robb, C. Ped (C) and Brian Scharfstein, C. Ped (C), have put together an incredible roster of speakers. Over two days, 11 speakers will present on a variety of topics around this year’s theme:

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Chronic Pain and Pedorthics.

The format of this year’s Symposium will be a single stream of sessions. This will allow for us to present all speakers virtually in real time, with online delegates participating in speaker Q & A alongside in-person attendees.

In Winnipeg, in-person delegates will still be able to participate in all events that make the annual Symposium so special: a limited number of exhibitors will be in attendance, and the Social Night and other special events will still take place. As this is the first in-person Canadian pedorthic event in two years, spending time with friends and colleagues from across Canada will still be at the forefront of what we do, with all social distancing and health precautions in place.

The overall goal of this symposium is to broaden Canadian Pedorthists understanding of chronic pain. Chronic pain patients are often labeled as “complex and challenging” and commonly associated with complex neurological conditions – such as complex regional pain syndrome and fibromyalgia. Although these conditions accurately fall under the classification of chronic pain, common pedorthic conditions, such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, plantar heel pain and musculoskeletal injuries can also be “chronic” in nature. Furthermore, when a condition moves from acute to chronic (defined as exceeding the normal healing time for the tissue and/or injury), neurological processes alter the traditional psychological and physiological response to treatment. As clinicians, these processes are important to understand in developing our own treatment plans. Furthermore, it remains imperative to appreciate how other health care practitioners complete the multidisciplinary approach to patient care in treating chronic conditions.