Science has come a long way in helping individuals understand the experience of pain. Previously, pain was believed to be a result of a purely physical or anatomical issue, stemming from injury, illness or tissue damage.

Fortunately, a newer understanding of how pain works — pain science — takes a far more complex and nuanced view. Pain science moves away from the idea that tissue damage alone equates to pain. Rather, pain science suggests that the whole sum of a person — including biological, social and psychological factors — must be taken into account in order to fully understand their pain experience.

On March 25, the first class of graduates from Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Oak Point University CNA Career Accelerator Program received their certificates in a ceremony attended by colleagues, family and distinguished guests. This unique program provides a fully-paid fast track to educate, certify and employ certified nursing assistants (CNAs) — what we refer to as patient care technicians, or PCTs, at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. PCTs provide basic care to our patients, including basic hygiene, activities of daily living and therapeutic rehabilitation activities.

Pathways.org—now part of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab—has been a leading resource in early detection and intervention of children’s development.

The goal of this project is to develop an automated, precise, quantitative biobehavioral assay for detecting infants at risk, and then rigorously test an early-life intervention to promote typical motor movement and sensory development in those infants in a manner designed for uptake and dissemination.

The latest featured expert is Monica Rho, MD, the Reva and David Logan Section Chief of Musculoskeletal Medicine at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Dr. Rho also is the lead team physician for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team — and was part of the staff that helped the players win the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.