The Protectometer: Difference between revisions

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== What is the Protectometer? ==
== What is the Protectometer? ==
Lorrimer Moseley and David Butler created a revolutionary book called Explain Pain (EP) that is patient-targeted to help them understand and manage causes of pain <ref name=":0">Moseley GL, Butler DS. Explain Pain Supercharged. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications, 2017 p. 15-18</ref><ref name=":1">Moseley GL, Butler DS. The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications 2015</ref> The overall concept of the book is that the pain experience is constructed in the brain, the experience is individual and is can be changed.<ref name=":4">Hunter JP. T[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5125472/ he Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer] by GL Moseley and DS Butler. Physiotherapy Canada. 2016;68(3):310.</ref>A specialized tool highlighted in the book is the protectometer theory.  The protectometer is an imaginary internal scale that balances dangers on one side of a scale, and safety on the other.<ref>Prowse, T.  Protectometer course.  Physioplus. 2022
Lorrimer Moseley and David Butler created a revolutionary patient-targeted book called Explain Pain (EP) to help individuals understand and manage causes of their pain <ref name=":0">Moseley GL, Butler DS. Explain Pain Supercharged. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications, 2017 p. 15-18</ref><ref name=":1">Moseley GL, Butler DS. The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications 2015</ref> The overall concept of the book is that the pain experience is constructed in the brain, their pain experience is individual and it can be changed.<ref name=":4">Hunter JP. T[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5125472/ he Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer] by GL Moseley and DS Butler. Physiotherapy Canada. 2016;68(3):310.</ref> A specialized tool highlighted in the book is the Protectometer which is an imaginary internal scale that balances dangers on one and safety on the other.<ref>Prowse, T.  Protectometer course.  Physioplus. 2022


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Revision as of 20:49, 4 April 2022

Original Editor - Bridget Ward

Top Contributors - Bridget Ward, Robin Tacchetti, Jess Bell, Admin, Kim Jackson and Vidya Acharya

What is the Protectometer?[edit | edit source]

Lorrimer Moseley and David Butler created a revolutionary patient-targeted book called Explain Pain (EP) to help individuals understand and manage causes of their pain [1][2] The overall concept of the book is that the pain experience is constructed in the brain, their pain experience is individual and it can be changed.[3] A specialized tool highlighted in the book is the Protectometer which is an imaginary internal scale that balances dangers on one and safety on the other.[4]

DIMs and SIMs[edit | edit source]

The Protectometer uses the concepts of DIMs (‘Danger in Me’) and SIMs (‘Safety in Me’)  to help understand why we experience pain [1][2] DIMs are things that the brain might see as credible evidence of ‘Danger In Me’’. They may be things we hear, see, touch, taste; things we do; things we think and believe; places we go; people in our life; and things happening in our body. [1] SIMs are things the brain might see as credible evidence of ‘Safety in Me’. They may be in the same categories as the above. [1]Moseley and Butler propose that ‘You will have pain when your brain concludes that there is more credible evidence of danger in me than there is credible evidence of safety in me’ [1] The overall goal for self-management of pain is to effectively decrease DIMS while increasing SIMS.[3] Mosley and Butler describe their EP book and the concept of DIMS and SIMS in the video below:

How does this relate to neurophysiology?[edit | edit source]

DIMs and SIMs are hypothesised by Moseley and Butler to be represented by ‘neurotags’ in the brain. That is, groups of neural networks that evoke outputs from the brain, including pain. [5] This is based somewhat on Melznak’s Neuromatrix theory. [6] They propose that these can be modified and changed, to change the perception of pain,  by using the EP approach.[7]

What’s the evidence?[edit | edit source]

There is growing evidence that the EP approach, which includes the use of The Protectometer and the concepts of DIMS and SIMs, is effective in reducing pain and perceived disability in those with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. [8][9][10] Research is ongoing, looking at the EP approach when used alone, and as part of a multimodal treatment approach.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Moseley GL, Butler DS. Explain Pain Supercharged. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications, 2017 p. 15-18
  2. 2.0 2.1 Moseley GL, Butler DS. The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications 2015
  3. 3.0 3.1 Hunter JP. The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer by GL Moseley and DS Butler. Physiotherapy Canada. 2016;68(3):310.
  4. Prowse, T. Protectometer course. Physioplus. 2022
  5. Moseley GL, Butler DS. Explain Pain Supercharged. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications. 2017 pp. 19 -25.
  6. Melzack R. Phantom limbs and the concept of the neuromatrix. Trends Neurosci 1990; 13: 88-92 cited in Moseley GL, Butler DS. Explain Pain Supercharged. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications. 2017 pp. 19.
  7. Moseley GL, Butler DS. Explain Pain Supercharged. Adelaide:Noigroup Publications. 2017
  8. Moseley LG, Butler DS. Fifteen years of Explaining Pain: The Past, Present and Future. J Pain 2015; http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2015.05.005 (accessed 8 Mar 2018)
  9. Louw A, Diener I, Butler DS, Puentedura EJ. The effect of neuroscience education on pain, disability, anxiety and stress in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 92(12): 2041-2056. http://doi.org.10.1016/j.apmr.2011.07.198 (accessed 9 Mar 2018)
  10. Butler DS, Moseley LG. Evidence base of Explain Pain Second Edition. Adelaide. Noigroup Publications. 2013. http://www.noigroup.com (accessed 8 March 2018)