Chronic pain directly impacts hundreds of millions of people around the world, yet there is still a way to go to bring about permanent remedies for all categories of pain. – And that is why National Pain Awareness Month is so important. Taking place every September, this is a great opportunity for Pain Consultants & other Pain Professionals & activists in the UK, the US, & various other countries around the world, to unite together to highlight issues related to long-term pain, and how it is life-changing for many sufferers
An Overview
Some of the aims of Pain Awareness Month, is to make the general public aware of just how prevalent general pain is; the best methods for dealing with it; and to ask companies, organisations, and private individuals, for funding to cover new research into the causes and treatment of different types of of pain. This is a time of hope for those who experience pain in all its forms. Some have experienced pain since they were children and adolescents, while others have experienced it since they were older. The lucky ones, include those who were given a correct medical diagnosis by a Pain Consultant, who then put them on a multi-treatment holistic, Personalised Treatment Plan. The unlucky ones are those who have not been helped due to ineffective remedies, insufficient NHS budgets, their own financial reasons, not being given the correct diagnosis by a general practitioner (GP), as they have not had in-depth training as a Pain Specialist, and more.
Educating the General Public
There are many types of pain:
- Chronic pain (long-term pain)
- Acute pain (created by injury, surgery, illness, trauma or painful medical procedures. It serves as a warning of a threat to the body, or a pending disease. It normally lasts for a short period of time, and then dissipates when the underlying cause has healed or treated)
- Neuropathic pain (a type of pain generated by injury or damage to the nerves that transfer information between the brain and spinal cord from the skin, muscles, and other parts of the body)
- Nociceptive pain (a type of pain caused by damage to body tissue)
- Radicular pain (a type of pain that radiates from the back and hip into the legs via the spine).
On the Bright Side
“There are many different methods & techniques for treating pain, both chronic & acute” [1]. The key is to book a consultation with a Pain Consultant, and get an accurate diagnosis at the earliest possible date
[1]. John Hopkins Medical (2022). “September is Pain Awareness Month.”
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/stories/september_pain_awareness_month.html
