Introduction: Pain is a complex and personal experience. Within the medico-legal context, occupational therapists are often challenged by the discrepancy between a person’s subjective pain report and their observed functional performance. These discrepancies often challenge occupational therapist to be able to provide form defensible, compassionate, and accurate evaluations.
Objective: This presentation will explore how occupational therapists can translate evidence from pain science into practical, defensible clinical reasoning when evaluating function in individuals reporting pain. This presentation aims to enhance both the accuracy and empathy of occupational therapy practice in complex medico-legal cases.
Approach: Drawing on research and using case-based examples from medico-legal practice, this presentation will demonstrate how occupational therapists integrate subjective and objective data when forming professional opinions about function and capacity. Strategies for eliciting accurate pain narratives, observing and documenting inconsistencies without bias, and applying evidence-informed language in reports will be discussed.
Practice Implications: This presentation will support occupational therapists to consider:
1) How the subjective pain experience influences functional performance;
2) Identify key concepts from pain science relevant to occupational therapy medico-legal assessment;
3) Apply strategies for integrating subjective and objective data into clinical reasoning; and
4) Use evidence-based approaches to document pain-related limitations in a clear and defensible manner.