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Our 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting

April 27 — 30, 2024⁠ in Ottawa, Ontario

Individuals interested in pain from around the world, come together to share knowledge and expertise on the latest advancements in pain mechanisms, evaluation, and management.

Register for The Annual Meeting

Members receive priority access and special discounts for 2024 registration.

Public access opens soon.

Become a Member

Late Breaking Abstracts

Required by February 16th, 2024

The Scientific Program Committee (SPC) seeks to offer a balanced, diverse, and cutting-edge program that reflects different areas of pain science and policy from all members of the pain community. Your participation is of the utmost importance and will be integral to the success of the CPS Annual Scientific Meeting and continued progress in pain research and management.

Submit your Abstract

The National Congress

on Pain co-organized

with Health Canada

This event is held separately from the Annual Scientific Meeting. Attendees of the Annual Scientific Meeting are invited to attend at no additional cost.

Moments Captured at our Meeting

Fostering collaborative relationships and knowledge translations between research scientists, health care professionals, trainees, and persons with lived experience, all with a shared focus on pain.

Presentations from our 2024 Meeting

September 2023

Predicting the Transition to Chronic Pain: Insights from Across Biopsychosocial Systems

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Describe predictive markers of chronic pain from across different biopsychosocial systems. • Identify mechanisms involved in the transition from acute to chronic pain. • Recognize potential new targets for the prevention of chronic pain.

D. Seminowicz, S. Schabrun, L. Jenkins

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Implementing Large Scale System-Wide Healthcare Solutions for Chronic Pain Management

Implementing Large Scale System-Wide Healthcare Solutions for Chronic Pain Management: Implementation Science, Knowledge Mobilization, and Complexity Informed Research from Across Canada At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Identify success factors, challenges, and key takeaways from the exemplar initiatives. • Compare and contrast the unique challenges and opportunities presented when implementing large-scale health system solutions at the local, provincial, and national levels. • Propose considerations and strategies for future initiatives.

R. Visca, M. Robert, K. Birnie, E. Lopatina

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Long Road Travelled and Lessons Learnt

This presentation will provide a review 43 years of clinical practice, research, and advocacy in promoting pain diagnosis and management. I will discuss the development of unique clinical practice in an academic institution, the intricacies of operating within an academic hospital, the value of clinical practice-derived research, the contributions of advocacy to promote the causes of chronic pain, and finally how to bring academic principles to community practice. At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Recognize the intricacies of been in an academic environment. • Comprehend that clinical research is possible through questions generated in clinical practice. • Participate in order to generate system changes.

Angela Mailis

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

What is Pain and Why Does it Matter?

Pain can be a simple reflexive response to a stimulus that threatens our body, or a complex cognitive, emotional and social experience. In most cases it is driven directly by nociceptive input, but in others it seems to occur without any peripheral source. This talk will review an (early) career spent examining what pain is, how it is changed by the emotional and cognitive context in which it occurs, and how the brain integrates multiple sources of information to produce the pain we experience. I will show how our understanding of pain and its mechanisms and measurement impacts us in medical and legal settings, including the recent debate over fetal pain and abortion. At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Understand how studies of lesion and congenital insensitivity to pain patient, and individual with trauma can contribute to our understanding of the brain's role in pain. • Contextualize findings from neuroimaging studies. • Reflect on how our understanding of pain impacts clinical and legal decision making.

Tim Salomons

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Arthritis and Osteoarthritis Q & A

Join us for an informative and engaging Q & A session with renowned experts Michael Stein and Tom Appleton.

Michael Stein and Tom Appleton

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

What’s New in Osteoarthritis: Evidence for Treatments

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Describe the current landscape in treatment recommendation in osteoarthritis. • Summarize emerging data that shifts our understanding of the basis of OA pathophysiology. • Discuss novel OA therapeutics on the horizon.

Tom Appleton

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Inflammatory Arthritis and Disease Modifying Agents

Inflammatory Arthritis and Disease Modifying Agents: What Pain Management Practitioners Need to Know Patients who suffer from inflammatory rheumatic diseases often experience pain. It is important to identify these patients in part to establish a diagnosis but also to recognize that rheumatic conditions are associated with damage to different organs which may influence investigations and choice of therapy. Furthermore, it is important for clinicians who treat patients with pain syndromes to become familiar with medications used in the treatment of inflammatory arthritis. At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Recognize the signs and symptoms of inflammatory arthritis. • Increase awareness of undiagnosed and active rheumatic diseases in patients with chronic pain. • Familiarize themselves with common disease modifying medications used for rheumatic diseases.

Michael Stein

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

The Mechanistic Mélange of Pain

Advancing new therapeutic approaches remains a significant challenge in the field of pain. Transcriptomic analysis of changes in gene expression in the spinal cord dorsal horn have led to cataloging diverse cellular alterations in response to peripheral nerve injury but have focused on phenomenology and classifying transcriptomic changes. Recently, we took a purposeful approach of exploring the possibility of identifying pain relieving drugs by simultaneously looking not just between sexes in a single species but between sexes in two species. Surprisingly, given the large emphasis on sex differences across biomedical sciences we found that there are many more commonalities than differences between sexes and across species in the gene expression changes produced in the spinal dorsal horn. To take our analysis forward we developed a way to use this information to make testable predictions about drug response. We used pathway analysis to define the molecular network of proteins encoded by the genes in which transcript expression had changed. Because of the power of our four-way analysis we not only identified known pathways – which validated our analyses – but we discovered connections and hubs not seen previously. With this information we developed a workflow through mining the database of FDA-approved drugs and interrogating this with the common nodes and hubs we had identified. The top hit from this analysis was fostamatinib, the molecular target of which is the non-receptor tyrosine kinase SYK, which our analysis had identified as a key node in the interactome. administrating the active two structurally distinct SYK inhibitors reversed pain hypersensitivity and, as our analysis predicted, did this in both sexes. Thus, we identified and showed the efficacy of agents that could not have been previously predicted to have analgesic properties. At the end of this presentation, the participants will be able to: • Recognize the diverse mechanisms for pain sensitization. • Identify how gene expression analysis can be used to identify new molecular targets for pain-reducing therapies. • Outline sex differences and sex similarities in pain mechanisms.

Michael Salter

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Aeromedical Aspects of Migraine

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Appreciate the factors to be considered in determining medical fitness for aircrew. • Understand how the results of a recent review of the literature contributed to development of a stepwise approach to assessment and disposition of migraines in aircrew. • Become aware of a risk matrix approach that guides decision making.

Joan Saary

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias and Neuralgias

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Identify the diagnostic criteria and clinical features for Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias. • List treatment options for each of the four Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias. • Recognize the clinical features, evaluation and management of cranial neuralgias.

Jaclyn Duvall

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Aeromedical Aspects of Migraine

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Appreciate the factors to be considered in determining medical fitness for aircrew. • Understand how the results of a recent review of the literature contributed to development of a stepwise approach to assessment and disposition of migraines in aircrew. • Become aware of a risk matrix approach that guides decision making.

Joan Saary

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

September 2023

Psilocybin and Headache: Mycotic Miracle or Fungal Fantasy?

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Formulate an understanding of what psychedelics are. • Define the uses and conditions psilocybin responds to during treatment and why also referred to as “magic mushrooms.” • Outline potential mechanisms by which psilocybin might exert its effects and potential risks. • Explore emerging research revealed about psilocybin in preventing and treating migraine and cluster headache. • Recognize the mechanisms behind the approval process for psilocybin for clinical use in Canada.

Alex Melinyshyn

Exclusive access to the full National Pain Rounds and Pain Rounds for Trainees session videos will be granted first to our valued members. Our broader audience can enjoy our complete videos one month after the initial session airs.

All opinions expressed by the presenters are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of the Canadian Pain Society. The views, opinions, and commentary of the presenters are for information purposes only, and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of a licensed healthcare provider before making any changes to your health care regimen.

The Complete Agenda

Integrate activities and understanding that will help improve access to high-quality pain care, including preventing and treating pain more effectively. View speaker Conflicts of Interest.

Back to the Annual Meeting

The National Pain Congress will provide an opportunity to foster new collaborative relationships and facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers, health care professionals, trainees, people living with pain, as well as policy and decision-makers, to further describe the impacts of chronic pain on Canadians. The Congress will also help inform the path forward to implement priority actions in pain-related areas with the common overall goal of improving health outcomes for people living with pain.

Explore the Congress >>

TweetChat

Online

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Focus on Migraine

Online

Online

Presidents Gala

Online

Online

Featured Events

A Special Lunch Event Hosted by The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans

Monday, April 29th — 1310 to 1400h

Open Full Agenda >>

Online

#canadianpain24

Prizes for connecting online!

Online

Cannabinoids in Clinical Practice Conference

Tuesday April 30 — Les Saison

Open Full Agenda >>

Online

Presidents Gala Dinner

— Cocktails at 1830h
— Dinner Served at 1930h
— Dance to follow

Online

Sponsored Presentation by Avicanna

Sunday, April 28th — 0715 to 0800h

Online

Sponsored Presentation by Pfizer

Sunday, April 28th — 1215 to 1300h

Online

Trainee Social

Sunday April 28 — Twenty Two
An evening filled with lively social dynamics, delicious food, and refreshing drinks, all geared towards trainees!

Online

Pain Refresher Course for Practicing and Trainee Pain Medicine Physicians: A Satellite Course

Saturday, April 27th — Les Saison

Open Full Agenda >>

Online

✶ Plenary Speaker

Dr. Cornelia (Nel) Wieman

Acting CMO for the First Nations Health Authority, British Columbia.

She is Anishinaabe (Mishi-Baawitigong First Nation, Treaty 5 Territory) and lives, works and plays on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. She completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University. Canada's first female Indigenous psychiatrist, Dr. Wieman has more than 20 years and clinical experience, working with Indigenous people in both rural/reserve and urban settings. Dr. Wieman served as the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC) from 2016 - 2022.

✶ Plenary Speaker

Dr. Michael Salter

Senior Scientist and Emeritus Chief of Research at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.

A Senior Scientist and Emeritus Chief of Research at The Hospital for Sick Children, and Professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto. He received his MD at the University of Western Ontario and his PhD from McGill University. Professor Salter is determining fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms of normal and pathological neuroplasticity. His discoveries have broad implications for the control of cell-cell communication throughout the nervous system. He is using his discoveries to design and develop molecules that target major cell signalling pathways in neurons and in glial cells involved in pain, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases and schizophrenia. He has won numerous awards for his work, including being named an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Distinguished Plenaries

A comprehensive (300 page) summary of the scopes, methods, results, and conclusions of all our approved poster presentations.

Poster Presentations

A deep dive into the abstracts of our keynote, plenaries, and many distinguished speakers who are presenting.

Abstracts

Featured Concurrent Events

Our Exhibitor Guide

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Featured Concurrent Events

In collaboration with leading researchers and pain professionals, we present a curated lineup of concurrent events designed to stimulate discourse and participation. Immerse yourself in workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, offering a unique platform to exchange ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of pain science. Elevate your academic journey with concurrent events that transcend traditional boundaries, unlocking new perspectives and fueling innovation. Further events forthcoming.

Our Exhibitor Guide

The CCIC presents the 10th Annual Cannabinoids in Clinical Practice Conference

April 30th, 2024

This initiative will present the science of the endocannabinoid system, risks, efficacy, and how to approach cannabinoids as an option in patient care, as well as have educated discussions with patients about the known impacts of cannabis use on health and disease.

Review the agenda and poster session information for the CCIC conference held in collaboration with the Canadian Pain Society.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our 2024 Art Awards

Created to engage a broad audience and contribute to knowledge mobilization and develop new tools for teaching and communicating about pain and its impact on social life. With a new theme each year, we showcase the variety of artwork presented by clinicians, scientists, educators, artists, and people living with pain.

View Submissions

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