Persistent pain is one of the leading contributors to disability worldwide and remains a major challenge for physiotherapists working across diverse health systems. At the same time, the profession is being asked to deliver care that is more individualized, evidence-informed, scalable, and cost-conscious. This focused symposium responds to that need by bringing together two complementary, yet innovative approaches in contemporary physiotherapy practice: digital phenotyping and multimodal rehabilitation.

Claudio Akiyama will present digital phenotyping as a structured method for identifying clinically relevant pain patterns and strengthening decision-making in people with complex and heterogeneous pain presentations. Rather than relying on broad labels alone, this approach supports more precise interpretation of symptom behavior, pain mechanisms, and functional limitation to guide individualized treatment planning.

KenJohnson will present a multimodal rehabilitation model used at Johns Hopkins Hospital in which biophysical agents are integrated as targeted, time-limited supports within active care. In this framework, biophysical agents are not positioned as stand-alone passive treatments, but as tools to reduce barriers to movement, improve tissue readiness, support load progression, promote healing, and enhance participation in exercise and self-management. The model organizes intervention selection around treatment goals such as pain reduction, mobility restoration, tissue healing support, load tolerance, resilience, and neuromuscular activation.

Moderated by Natalie Perkins, the symposium will connect these perspectives through international case discussion and audience interaction. A “Good, Better, Best” clinical reasoning lab will use real-time polling and case-based discussion to examine how physiotherapists can combine digital reasoning with multimodal rehabilitation while remaining attentive to context, available resources, and the evidence based. This tiered framework will help participants distinguish principles that are broadly applicable across settings from advanced technologies that may be appropriate only in selected clinical and economic environments.

By the end of the session, participants will have a practical framework for combining innovation, clinical reasoning, and multimodal rehabilitation to strengthen individualized pain care and support the global role of physiotherapy in contemporary rehabilitation systems.

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