Folsom Physical Therapy (FPT) began a professional collaboration with the Division of Pain Medicine at the University of California, Davis Medical Center (UCD) in Sacramento in 2001.
UCD’s Division of Pain Medicine is nationally recognized and is the recipient of the American Society of Pain Medicine’s National Center of Excellence Award as well as the American Academy of Pain Medicine’s Award for Excellence in Education. The partnership between FPT and UCD’s Division of Pain Medicine has been benefiting patients and students alike for nearly 20 years.
The History of Our Collaboration
At the start of UCD’s collaboration with FPT, UCD had recently recruited Scott M. Fishman, MD as their new pain medicine chief. Dr. Fishman has a unique pedigree of qualifications for his position as Chief of Pain Medicine as he is board certified in three specialties: anesthesia, psychiatry, and internal medicine. As he arrived in Sacramento he was quickly becoming recognized as a national authority on the subject of pain medicine, being featured in Time Magazine’s special issue on chronic pain as well as being featured in a weeklong segment for Good Morning America.
Dr. Fishman recognized early in his career in pain medicine that his specialty could help patients initially manage their pain with effective medications and/or specific injection procedures. But these interventions would only work on a long-term basis if they served as a catalyst for a chronic pain patient to make lifestyle choices. The lifestyle choices that would help the patient improve their quality of life oftentimes meant safe, effective physical therapy interventions with carefully crafted exercise programs for such patients.
Upon leaving the East Coast and coming to UCD in Sacramento, a respected Boston area physical therapist who had received training from FPT’s continuing education program told Dr. Fishman about FPT. Initially, in 2001, Dr. Fishman asked FPT partners Tim McGonigle, PT and Michael Moore, PT to give yearly lectures to the Pain Fellows going through UCD’s one year Pain Fellowship Program for medical doctors who had already completed their residencies in either anesthesiology, neurology, psychiatry, or physical rehabilitation medicine. As FPT’s relationship to the UCD Pain Division grew, the collaboration began to include Tim and Michael speaking at pain medicine conferences sponsored by UCD Pain Medicine. Eventually this relationship included an official appointment to UCD for Tim and Michael as Volunteer Clinical Guest Faculty in the Division of Pain Medicine.
Our Therapists and the UCD Pain Clinic
In 2013, Michael revised his schedule in order to volunteer one afternoon a week in the UCD pain clinic to not only help Pain Fellows learn examination procedures, but also to consult with patient treatments at the Sacramento campus. Tim, Michael, Brigit Lim, MPT, Kristen Branham, MPT, and Angela Blakie, MPT present medical lectures annually to each new class of the UCD Pain Fellowship Program.
The professional relationship between FPT and UCD’s Division of Pain Medicine has been a truly successful collaboration for chronic pain patients. These patients have benefited from the ongoing support over time to make lifestyle changes and improve their quality of life with safe exercise, a sense of community with FPT’s group exercise sessions, and the encouragement of dietary changes for better overall health.
