iMANAGE series of workshops kicks off with pain management module

At the recent iMANAGE pain management workshop, renowned pain specialists share their experience and impart knowledge to GPs in private practice.

The panel of speakers included notable pain specialists Dr Mary Suma Cardosa, Head, Pain Medicine Subspecialty, Anaesthesiology Programme, Ministry of Health Malaysia; Associate Professor Choy Yin Choy, Pain Clinic Coordinator, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; and Professor Ramani Vijayan, Honorary Consultant Anaesthesiologist and Pain Management Specialist, University Malaysia Medical Centre. 

The session started with a pre-workshop assessment followed by the first lecture delivered by Choy, titled Understanding Pain in General. Choy delved into types of pain, specifically acute and chronic pain. He went on to distinguish between nociceptive and neuropathic pain. As pain is a significant predictor of morbidity and mortality, he called for physicians to look out for red flags that require immediate investigation or referral. These include back pain, which could be due to metastasis of cancer. He said the initial pain assessment can also help ensure optimal treatment of pain through identification of the underlying cause of the pain, while recognition of the pathophysiologic mechanism behind the pain can help guide treatment selection. Finally, determining baseline pain intensity enables future assessment of treatment efficacy in order to guide titration and modification of the analgesic regimen.

Cardosa’s presentation was on destigmatizing neuropathic pain and proper identification of pain. She also led the participants on one of the highlights of the workshop which was a demonstration on stretching exercises that can be taught to patients suffering from chronic pain. Participants were encouraged to take part in the session. The stretches, said Cardosa, can be easily taught to persons suffering from chronic pain. Ramani presented on management of acute and chronic low back pain, and musculoskeletal pains. She said low back pain represents a big portion of complaints faced in the GP setting, and thus it was important to deal with its management correctly.

During the workshop, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Naluri, Azran Osman-Rani, came up to introduce his company. Naluri is in essence, a digital health coach powered by real healthcare professionals. Azran said the impetus for Naluri’s formation came from his experience of being a caretaker for his father with diabetes. He could see the progression of the disease and noticed gaps in treatment, which led to Naluri’s founding in 2017. Users of Naluri can access coaches who are qualified dietitians, psychiatrists and cardiologists, among others. Through iMANAGE, the first 400 patients referred to the Naluri Patient Support Programme will have fully sponsored access for 6 months. 

About iMANAGE
The iMANAGE programme is a series of educational workshops encompassing pain, mental health, and cardiovascular disease management. iMANAGE stands for Integrated Management of Non-Communicable Diseases in Non-Governmental Establishments. The pilot project is slated to run for 12 months and participants who enroll must go through the pre-workshop preparation, then attend the workshop itself, and thereafter engage in the post-workshop events, which entails active engagement in the iMANAGE Online community, enrolling patients in the Naluri programme and participation in post-workshop surveys and discussions. 

The programme is sponsored by UpJohn, with MIMS Education being the content partner. The scientific partners of the programme consist of Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), Malaysian Society of Hypertension (MSH), Malaysian Association for the Study of Pain (MASP), Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia (AFPM), Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS), National Heart Association of Malaysia (NHAM) and Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA).