Introduction: Effective pain management is a fundamental component of quality healthcare, yet a systemic gap persists in the academic preparation of Physical Therapists (PTs) to address the complexities of modern pain science. This convergent mixed-methods study sought to determine and provide competency guidelines for structured enhancement of pain education within Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs. Methods: A quantitative survey assessed the academic training, experience, and self-rated competence of 45 licensed PTs, while concurrent qualitative interviews gathered in-depth insights from 5 expert pain practitioners. Results: Key findings indicate a significant discrepancy: over 80% of PTs work with patients experiencing persistent pain daily or weekly, yet most reported receiving only 6-10 hours of academic pain education. This deficit forces clinicians to rely heavily on continuing education and postgraduate training as their primary source of pain knowledge. Furthermore, a significant confidence-competence gap was identified, wherein general confidence in managing pain patients was higher than specific confidence in understanding and applying current, evidence-informed pain terminology and guidelines. Discussion: This study advocates for the formal and thorough integration of contemporary, evidence-based pain science, aligned with International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) competencies, into entry-level DPT curricula to establish a consistent standard of competency for the profession.Statement of Conflict or Financial Interest: The author declares no competing interests. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Rodiel Kirby Baloy (Fri,) studied this question.