What you get by completing this session

  • 55 mins of CPD

    A 45 minute video lecture with presentation slides, you can stop and start anytime you like. 10 minute quiz is included.

  • Certificate of Completion

    Receive a certificate once you complete the session. Download this from your student dashboard or in your course completion email

  • Easy CPD Documentation

    Fill out the CPD Documentation activity at the end of the session, receive a PDF summary of your CPD activity and reflection right to your email inbox to save or print out!

What you'll learn in this expert session

Topical agents are a first-line option for many musculoskeletal issues, but do they work? There is a wide variety of topical agents, only some of which contain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), that patients can and will use when troubled by low back pain or similar musculoskeletal issues. Healthcare professionals’ recommendations to patients also vary widely. Beyond these lotions and potions, there are devices such as heat packs and "electroceuticals," all readily available in pharmacies and online. In this presentation, Joyce McSwan, Clinical Consultant Pharmacist, unpacks the evidence for these options, explaining how and when to use them. She will focus on options supported by evidence and provide practical advice on their correct implementation.

About the Expert

Joyce McSwan

Joyce McSwan is a multi-award-winning Clinical Consultant Pharmacist and educator specialising in pain management. She is the President of the Australian Pain Society, Clinical Director of the Gold Coast Primary Health Network’s ‘Turning Pain into Gain’ program, Managing Director of PainWISE, and Principal CPD Director of the Australian Health Professional Advisory Solutions. Her contributions to persistent pain management have been recognised through awards and collaborative industry partnerships with Griffith University, Bond University, Pain Australia, the Australian Pain Society, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and the Pain Management Research Institute. She is a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, with expertise in designing innovative health pathways and piloting and implementing value-based models of care in primary care settings, utilising mixed funding models to optimise pain and chronic disease management

Course curriculum

  • 1

    How to complete this course

    • Instructions
  • 2

    Topical Analgesics for Low Back and Other Musculoskeletal Pain Demystified

    • Summary

    • Video lecture (45 mins)

    • Quiz: test your learning (10 mins)
  • 3

    Document your CPD here

    • CPD Documentation and Reflection Activity Tool
  • 4

    Feedback

    • Please let us know your thoughts