UK charity links with public health campaign to produce magazine for people living with chronic pain

Co-produced by those who live with persistent pain, healthcare professionals and academics, this edition of Pain Matters features ‘Flippin’ Pain’ – a public health campaign with the goal of raising awareness of the problem of persistent pain and encouraging people to change the way they think about it, talk about it, and treat it.

The size and seriousness of the issue of persistent pain will be nothing new to readers of Pain Matters. Flippin’ Pain does not tout itself as a cure or a new intervention, rather the focus of the campaign is to improve understanding of pain at a population level; to bring the real science of pain to the people.

So this issue aims to unearth some hidden truths about what scientists have known about pain for over 55 years. The importance of health literacy and Pain Neuroscience Education is discussed along with an acknowledgement that Behavioural Change isn’t easy so some strategies to overcome change are tabled. It also covers the link between emotion and pain, some back pain tips and the importance of the language we use.

Richard Pell, Campaign Director for Flippin’ Pain adds “Persistent pain is widely misunderstood; with respect to how and why it occurs as well as factors that contribute to its ongoing experience. The articles in this issue have all been selected because they can help advance people’s understanding of pain. Greater understanding is empowering for people affected by pain and we know that changing how people think about pain can change how they react to it, and even how it feels. We are excited about the opportunity to “take over” this edition of Pain Matters – a fantastic publication full of advice and information and I hope it will help everyone impacted.”

Pain Concern’s Managing Editor, James Boyce, adds: “We were delighted to have the Flippin’ Pain team in the guest-editors chair for this edition. Educating and informing people about their pain is at the forefront of what we aim to do here at the charity, so having an issue which focuses on pain neuroscience education, produced in collaboration with a campaign with education at its heart, was a perfect match. Having each article co-written by a person with lived experience of pain was an added bonus, as bringing healthcare professionals and people with pain together has been one of Pain Concern’s main goals since our inception in 1995.”

Alongside Richard, the co-editors for this edition have been Gail Sowden and Tim Atkinson. Gail is a Consultant Physiotherapist and National Pain Lead for Connect Health. Tim is a teacher and author living in Lincolnshire. He is currently writing a book – ‘Where Does It Hurt?’ – about his own lived experience of pain as an arthritis sufferer.

The magazine is available here