Erik Dufner

PT, DPT, CEEAA, TPS, FPS

Pain Science

Bio

In 2000, I graduated with a Master of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Mary. My first physical therapy position was with Billings Clinic in Miles City, Montana, where I held staff and lead physical therapy positions during my eight years there. Starting in 2004, I was also a contract physical therapist with the Department of Veteran Affairs’ Community Living Center in Miles City. During this timeframe, I was following a biomedical evidence-based medicine practice for patients who were experiencing persistent pain. I found my patients were not improving with their pain nor their functional abilities. I started researching persistent pain and found the International Spine and Pain Institute, led by Dr. Adrian Louw. That began my path and passion for treating persistent pain.

I transitioned to a full-time staff physical therapist position at the Department of Veteran Affairs in Miles City in 2009 where I remained until 2019. During this time, I completed my Therapeutic Pain Specialist certification through the International Spine and Pain Institute with Dr. Louw. Utilizing the information I was learning, I provided in-service training on the importance of verbal, non-verbal, and biopsychosocial constructs when assessing patients experiencing pain. I became a member of the Pain Team at our local facility. In 2019, I was instrumental in changing the pain assessment tool that we used to assess Veteran’s biopsychosocial aspects of persistent pain. This was completed through a VA Geriatric Scholar Quality Improvement Project in which I led.

My desire to expand my knowledge of treating persistent pain drove me to enroll in the Pain Science Fellowship with the International Spine and Pain Institute, which is now a part of Evidence in Motion (EIM) Institute of Health Professions. This was in 2018–2019. One of the requirements of the fellowship program was completing a research project. My research project, “Can Pre-Season Left/Right Judgement Tasks Predict Injury or Pain in Middle School Basketball Players? An Exploratory Study”, was published in the Journal of Yoga and Physiotherapy on June 24, 2025. After completing my pain fellowship, I was hired on through EIM as a faculty member for online therapeutic neuroscience education moderation and grading of Therapeutic Pain Specialist Capstone projects.

In September 2019, I was hired as a staff physical therapist at the Department of Veteran Affairs in Fort Meade, SD (Sturgis). My position had a heavy focus on treating Veterans with persistent pain as well as teaching and mentoring medical