Thank you to all our students and hosts across Canada this Fall - in Halifax, Toronto, Saskatoon, Edmonton and, of course, in Vancouver at the Chan Gunn Pavilion!

Last month,   Dr. Jason Taddeo gave the 2024 UBC Chan Gunn Lecture "Interprofessional Considerations in Pain Management: The Role of Gunn IMS and Exercise Therapy in Pain Modulation" live to an international audience. We now have a recording of the lecture available for you to watch whenever it suits you. Please find access to the lecture below. Enjoy!

You can watch the recording now by clicking the "play" button in the centre of the image below.

Last  night, Dr. Jason Taddeo presented our 2024 UBC Chan Gunn Lecture - ​Interprofessional Considerations in Pain Management: The Role of Gunn IMS and Exercise Therapy in Pain Modulation.    Thank you Jason!

Jason Taddeo is an Assistant Professor with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) University where he has been teaching clinical skills and interdisciplinary practices to physician learners since 2011. He holds his Doctorate in Health Sciences, is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapists, and has completed a Graduate Certificate in Pain Management. In 2023, he received the Innovative Preceptor Award for student education from NOSM University. He is a practising physiotherapist, whose practice includes treatment of persisting myofascial and neuropathic pain, concussion management and vestibular therapy.

In his lecture, Jason discussed the gap between traditional pain education and clinical pain management, and how the Gunn IMS model bridges this gap. Jason explored how the Gunn IMS approach aligns with current dry needling and pain modulation research, and its applications to pain management.

Jason’s lecture expanded on an idea that we are asked about so often on courses and that is so important - how do we communicate effectively with non-Gunn IMS practitioners about Gunn IMS in a way that best serves our patients on both an individual and population-scale level. He shared a wealth of information to help us communicate better about:

• the scientific evidence that supports Dr. Gunn’s model of persistent myofascial pain
• how Gunn IMS aligns with our current understanding of persistent pain
• how we can most effectively integrate Gunn IMS into the overall management strategy for people who suffer from persistent  pain 
• as well as the ever-present issue we all face of how to communicate what Gunn IMS is (and what it isn’t)! Dr. Taddeo has very kindly agreed to share with us the slide I have inserted below from his lecture that provides such a beautiful summary of some of the ways we can differentiate Gunn IMS from other approaches. Thank you Jason!

Please feel free to share this slide, but if you do, please reference it as: Taddeo, J. (2024). Interprofessional Considerations in Pain Management: The Role of Gunn IMS and Exercise Therapy in Pain Modulation [PowerPoint presentation], 2024 UBC Chan Gunn Lecture, Vancouver, Canada. ​https://www.gunnims.com/home/2024-ubc-chan-gunn-lecture

Canadian Physiotherapy Association 2024 National Congress was recently held in Vancouver. UBC Gunn IMS program director, Dr. Lyndal Solomons, has served as chair of the Acupuncture and Dry Needling Division Executive of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association for five years. Senior UBC Gunn IMS instructor Susan Massitti has also served on the executive for five years. Both Lyndal and Susan attended congress representing the Acupuncture and Dry Needling Division along with two other members of the division executive - Karim Hanna, a Gunn IMS-trained physiotherapist, and Shirley Luong.

Canada’s Minister of Health, Mark Holland, attended congress to announce the extension of the Canada Student Financial Assistance program to include physiotherapists. He spoke enthusiastically about the contribution physiotherapists make to the health of Canadians and the importance of prevention of poor health rather than reactive medical care.

Elaine Maheu, the recipient of the 2023 Enid Graham Memorial Lecture Award, mentioned in her lecture at congress how valuable her Gunn IMS training proved to be over her physiotherapy career. On request, she recorded a special clip for us, explaining why she has found her Gunn IMS training to be “indispensable”! You can watch the clip below. The Enid Graham Memorial Lecture Award is the most prestigious award that the CPA bestows on a member. The award honours a member of the CPA who has provided outstanding leadership and has made a distinguished contribution to the profession.

Elaine, a dedicated professional for over four decades with a remarkable academic record, has greatly contributed to the growth of the physiotherapy profession on a global scale, specifically in the field of orthopaedics. A trailblazer in manual therapy, she took her knowledge and expertise internationally, conducting courses and training not only in Canada but beyond. Throughout her career, Elaine has proven to be an exceptional leader and advocate for the profession, while remaining a curious student, knowledgeable teacher, and valued peer. As a committed physiotherapist, Elaine’s impacts on the advancement of the profession continue to live on and leave a mark across the globe.​

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UBC Gunn IMS, as part of UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine, just attended our annual UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine retreat in Whistler along with UBC Orthopaedics and  Allan McGavin Physiotherapy.

As part of a rapid-fire “2 minutes, 2 slides” session, UBC Gunn IMS director, Dr. Lyndal Solomons, gave a snapshot look into segmental muscle tightness/shortening and how the Gunn IMS approach differs from more “traditional” approaches.
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Her presentation demonstrated how the Gunn IMS treatment approach addresses dysfunction in the shortened muscle’s nerve supply rather than the muscle itself. She presented a case study showing how she was able to restore length to shortened muscles around the hip joint by treating the L2 spinal segmental level, without providing any treatment at all to the hip muscles directly.
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You can watch a video of her “2 slides” at the end of the video below.

As well as the rapid-fire “2 minutes, 2 slides” session, we were all so fortunate to attend fascinating presentations made by our colleagues, including:

• Looking ahead for our centre - Dr. ​Robert Petrella (Head, UBC Department of Family Practice) and Dr. Jordan Leith (Head, Arthroscopy Division, UBC Department of Orthopaedics)
• Overtraining - Dr. Michael Koehle (Director, UBC Division of Sport and Exercise Medicine)
• Performance nutrition - Alan Kenny (performance nutritionist)
• Injections - Dr. Kurt Morrish (sport medicine Fellow, UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinic)
• ACL injury - ortho perspective - Dr. Jordan Leith (Head, Arthroscopy Division, UBC Department of Orthopaedics)
• Sports psychology - case study - Dr. Whitney Sedgwick (psychologist)
• Back injury - physiatry perspective - Dr. Ahmed El Sayed (sport medicine physician, UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine Clinic)
• Advances in shoulder surgery - Dr. Patrick Chin (UBC Department of Orthopaedics)

 
Looking forward to next year already!

Our program director, Dr. Lyndal Solomons, was recently asked by the  International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) to do a short talk about Gunn IMS as part of a collection of educational videos  to be made available to the general public about various topics related to persistent pain. You can watch the video below:

The video covers:
• the Gunn IMS model of persistent musculoskeletal pain - what it is and how it is  different from other models of persistent pain
• ​how dry needles help with persistent pain and what research has shown us about the effects of treatment with dry needles
• who Gunn IMS treatment could help, i.e., what sort of problems tend to respond well to Gunn IMS treatment

If you would like to see more of the IASP video collection about pain, please go to:
https://www.instagram.com/iasp_pain/reels/​

Dr. Gunn received his Honorary Alumni Award at the Alumni UBC 2023 Achievement Awards  from UBC President,   Benoit-Antoine Bacon,   at the Fairmont Waterfront this week!

"After discovering a groundbreaking approach for chronic musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain in the 1970s, Dr. Chit Chan Gunn used years of observation and clinical practice to develop the Gunn Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) treatment. This dry needling technique for pain management and recovery unites Western medicine and traditional Chinese acupuncture. He and his wife Peggy’s philanthropic generosity helped UBC create a home for Gunn IMS certification that also provides BC’s highest quality chronic disease and pain care. Driven by a desire to share his expertise in chronic pain, Dr. Gunn has travelled extensively to teach, train, and mentor."

Dean Dermot Kelleher (Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine), Dr. Michael Koehle (Director, UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine), Dr. Lyndal Solomons (Director, UBC Gunn IMS Program ), Joanne McBrinn (UBC Gunn IMS Senior Instructor) and Leanne Denis (Executive Director, Development & Alumni Engagement) joined Dr. Gunn and his family at the event to celebrate his receiving the award.

Dr. Gunn and   Dean Dermot Kelleher  (Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine)

Dr. Lyndal Solomons (Director, UBC Gunn IMS Program), Joanne McBrinn (UBC Gunn IMS Senior Instructor) and  Dr. Michael Koehle (Director, UBC Sport and Exercise Medicine)

For highlights of the evening, watch the video below!

Throughout his journey from his birthplace in Malaysia, to earning his medical degree at Cambridge University, to his current home in Vancouver, Dr. Gunn has lived an inspiring life! His brilliance, philanthropy and persistence have driven him to create a unique approach to managing persistent musculoskeletal pain. Clinicians from around the world have travelled to Canada to learn Dr. Gunn's approach – including from Australia, Denmark, Israel, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the USA - which is now used globally to provide relief to countless people. His insights into human physiology have revolutionised the way we conceptualise musculoskeletal dysfunction and have provided us with an intervention of unrivalled effectiveness.

In Dr. Gunn's words:

"The fully illustrated book describes my early years, my education, and my medical career. I talk about my immigration to Vancouver and how, while treating patients for the Workers’ Compensation Board of BC, I had my first insights into the roots of chronic pain. Other chapters discuss Gunn IMS, my interest in ancient Chinese ceramics, and how the state-of-the-art Chan Gunn Pavilion came to be".

Try watching this just once! There is so much in this discussion. When I joined the IMS team, I realised very quickly how incredibly fortunate we were to have a group of instructors on the team who are ridiculously skilled, experienced, clever clever clever, absurdly humble, and above all supremely compassionate humans. I have had the privilege to teach with, chat with and learn from these people more than I deserve. Now it’s your turn!  Sit back and enjoy an hour of hearing just four of our amazing instructor team  talk about their experience using Gunn IMS with Olympic and other elite athletes  - Cory Choma, Lorrie Maffey, Susan Massitti and Dave Zelibka.
 
If you haven’t done the Gunn IMS certification course, and want to, go here  to apply.

For those of you who are already certified, come back and join us any time for Needling Review! 

To tell us what you would like to hear us talk about in a fireside chat, submit your idea here.

Lyndal Solomons
Director, UBC Gunn IMS Program

Dr. Gunn already has a medical degree from Cambridge, is a clinical professor at the University of Washington and is an inductee of the Order of BC and the Order of Canada...

Now he is also an honorary alumni of UBC! Congratulations Dr. Gunn!
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He will receive his award at a black tie gala at the Fairmont Waterfront on November 14 - should be quite a night!!!

 Iordan  Krouchev,  physiotherapist and instructor in Quebec's foundational dry needling course chatted with me about why he took the UBC Gunn IMS course and what it added to his clinical reasoning and dry needling technique framework.  

Iordan is a performance physiotherapist/rehabilitation specialist for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and a dry needling instructor for the Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec course Puncture physiothérapique avec aiguilles sèches. 
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Watch the ​ video of our chat below!

 Iordan's main take homes:

1. He had first heard about Dr. Gunn "years ago" as the ""patriarch"  of needling in North America"
2. He decided to do the Gunn IMS course after watching our instructor, clinical pain specialist Cory Choma,  speak about   how he used  Gunn IMS in his management of seven- time   Canadian champion  and three-time Olympian Neville Wright  at our annual UBC Chan Gunn  Lecture  on the Gunn  IMS members website -   watch the video that inspired Iordan below!
3. He was mainly drawn to the "general model" in terms of the  "overall    approach" - the "nervous system approach" ... "[the] global perspective"
4. He "enjoyed the [needling] protocols" and   expanded his needling approach    from both a    technical and anatomical standpoint
5. He noted the commonality between our two courses being "heavy on anatomy... and 3D anatomy"
6. He enjoyed integrating the Gunn IMS safety and precautions   protocols      with his existing knowledge
7. A key take home was the Gunn IMS concept of minimum effective dose - in terms of both reasoning and technique - "both go together"; and how   to   individualise [treatment] to the patient  
8. He summarised that he initially "[came] in for the model",  and also left with   "more technical and more reasoning" around the techniques he already used and how he needles

Watch the video of Cory Choma, Neville Wright and  Quin Sekulich (Strength and Conditioning Coach to Olympians)   that caught Iordan's attention about the Gunn IMS model

This is a perfect example of one of the signs we look for in the Gunn IMS approach that indicates segmental neuropathic dysfunction - a pattern of hair loss that can only be explained  by a problem with the segmental nerve supply to the affected tissue. Our model agreed to let us share a photo... (you know who you are - thank you!)

What causes this to happen?
How does it fit with the IMS model?
How do we use it to inform our treatment approach?
It's all explained by Dr. Gunn's model of neuropathic dysfunction.  To learn more, watch the video below  where our program director and instructor, Lyndal Solomons, explains the model, and why  dry needles are our first choice  for treatment for these sorts of problems.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qu%C3%A9bec_city_at_night,_view_from_L%C3%A9vis_city.jpg

Instructors Cory Choma, Susan Massitti and Dave Zelibka, and   Program  Director, Lyndal Solomons, spent   July  13-15th in Québec  City representing UBC Gunn IMS at the 2023 Canadian Physiotherapy Congress.  Thanks to everyone who popped by our booth to say "hi"!

Cory Choma  was an invited speaker, presenting his talk "Is treating the periphery "old school"? Bridging the gap between peripheral treatments and 'modern pain science'".

To watch a full version of Cory's lecture - scroll down to our Ottawa course post.

Lyndal (Chair), Susan (Secretary) and Dave (Website Representative) also serve on the executive of the Acupuncture and Dry Needling (ADN) Division of the CPA.  ADN Newsletter Editor, Gopika Athithan, also joined Lyndal, Susan and Dave representing the ADN Division at Congress - the first in-person Congress in 3 years  due to COVID restrictions - it was great to be able to spend time in-person together instead of just over Zoom!

Always such a joy to teach at Gunn!  A  wonderful group of students  - some back for Needling Review ... so great to see familiar faces again. Thanks  for spending the weekend with us everyone! Looking forward to seeing you back at Gunn for Part 2 in September. Happy Summer to all our  Spring/Fall cohort students in the meantime - see you all again   in   a couple of months!

Great time in Canada's capital - thanks for hosting us Ottawa!   Lots of fun with   a fabulous group of students  - thank you all!

Watch our instructor Cory Choma discuss this comcept in all its complexity in the video of our 2023 Chan Gunn lecture -  posted below...

Thanks so much for hosting us Edmonton! Lots of fun with our fantastic group of students - thank you all for a great weekend!  

For a complete answer to this question, watch our instructor,  Dave Zelibka of Elevate Physiotherapy,   and    Damian Warner, gold medal-winning Olympian of the 2020 Tokyo Games decathlon,   talk in detail about how they did it and won gold - it's all in the video of our 2020 UBC Chan Gunn Lecture posted below -   " The Making of the ‘World’s Greatest Athlete". 

​Another great day for the Gunn IMS community!   UBC Gunn IMS has spent years developing  a Members Only area of our website with a wealth of tools to support Gunn IMS practitioners in their practice. Today we launch the next generation of this  members area, with different levels of membership,    and welcome iSTOP members to the site. The members area includes:

• Needle technique updates
• Communication bulletins
• Clinical forms
• Online exams 
• Video content
• An ‘Ask-an-Instructor’ section to submit questions and read past responses
• A members discussion forum

Watch the welcome video from the UBC Gunn IMS Program Director,  Dr. Lyndal Solomons, to the new website community area -  all practitioners who were current  iSTOP members are now  instant IMS Level members!

​An exciting day for the Gunn IMS community! All iSTOP functions and members have joined the UBC Gunn IMS program. This is a natural transition that I am sure you will all welcome, particularly as it is the final step in the realisation of Dr. Gunn's long-term goal to make Gunn IMS part of a tertiary institution. Welcome iSTOP members!

Watch the interview between UBC Gunn IMS's Program Director,  Dr. Lyndal Solomons, and  Dr. Gunn talking about what it means to  Dr. Gunn for Gunn IMS to be part of the UBC Faculty of Medicine below! In this video, Dr. Gunn  also discusses Patrick. D. Wall's classic three types of pain.  In Dr. Gunn's textbook, "The Gunn Approach to the Treatment of Chronic Pain", Wall  described Dr. Gunn's  neuropathic model  of pain and its management as "...in the best of the traditions of classical medicine".

We are excited to announce our course schedule for 2023 with offerings in the following locations:

• Ottawa
• Edmonton
• Vancouver

Training for all spring courses begins with the successful completion of Part 1A which is online and self-paced. The next start date is April 3, 2023.

Check out our Course Calendar or Apply Now!

We have confirmed our spring course dates.  Location (TBA). We will be offering the following courses:

• Ottawa, Ontario, June 10-11, 2023 & September 16-17, 2023.
• Edmonton, Alberta, June 3-4, 2023 & September 9-10, 2023.
• Vancouver BC, June 24-25, 2023 & September 23-24, 2023.

Training for all fall courses begins with the successful completion of Part 1A which is online and self-paced. The next start date is April 3, 2023.

Check out our Course Calendar or Apply Now!

Olympic champion Damian Warner and his physio discuss the role Gunn IMS played in achieving gold!
Join Damian Warner and his physiotherapist Dave Zelibka as they look back at their nine-year journey to the top of the Olympic podium. In this dynamic discussion moderated by Senior Gunn IMS instructor Cory Choma they will examine:

• How they manage the delicate balance between training and recovery
• The benefits of using an injury prevention model instead of an injury treatment model
• Damian's first experiences with dry needling and how their approach evolved through trial and error
• How the Gunn IMS model helped Damian recover from and avoid overuse injuries throughout his career
• Why desensitization of the nervous system is a crucial component even in elite athletes
• How to incorporate dry needling into a complex training and competition schedule
• And much more

The discussion will be followed by 30-minute live Q&A dedicated to answering attendees' questions.