Alexandria Shaw-Villagrana

Eportfolio

The diagram I chose to write about for this class has made the biggest impact on my
learning. It helped me understand pain in a new way that I can relate to treating patients. Pain is a
case by case situation, everyone handles it differently, but everyone has experienced it to some
extent. Peoples biggest reaction to pain is all based on an individual’s “protection memories”.
Protection memories come from previous injury, previous pain, what does a person know about
this pain/injury, what have they done, and what have others done? Protection comes into play
when an individual senses threat, making pain an output and not an input. As I have come to
have this new understanding about pain and where it is rooted from, it will help me connect to
patient’s in a more empathetic way. Having empathy for my patient’s and understanding their
pain will help me become a better physical therapist assistant.