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One in five Australians live with persisting pain – a rate that’s only set to rise as our nation’s population ages. It’s Australia’s third most costly health condition, and is a significant contributor of suicides[1].
Now in its third year, the Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour, an initiative conceived by Professor Lorimer Moseley from the University of South Australia, is a public education campaign aimed at tackling the issue of chronic pain in rural areas. The latest tour, completed in March this year, was a gruelling 720km bike ride across Tasmania. On their route from Devonport to Hobart, 25 cyclists climbed the equivalent of 1.5 Mount Everest’s – so they certainly knew something about coping with pain by the end! Each day’s ride concluded with the team holding a free pain education seminar for the local community and its healthcare workers.
The 2019 Pain Revolution raised almost $100,000, all of which will go to educating and supporting regional and rural based healthcare professionals in their management of patient pain. This aim of capacity-building is conducted primarily through the Local Pain Educator program, a community-based health promotion initiative that embeds pain experts (called Local Pain Educators) in Australia’s bush communities, where chronic pain tends to be most prevalent. If you'd like to donate to the Local Pain Educator network, please click here.
Simonie Fox
Group Strategy Manager Rehabilitation & Claims
There is considerable work still to be done when it comes to educating Australians living with chronic pain and those who treat them. Encouragingly, the Federal Coalition Government recently pledged $6.8m to funding pain treatment and education.
Musculoskeletal claims are the most commonly claimed condition paid by AIA, a large proportion of which are essentially for chronic pain. Tragically, many of those living with chronic pain end up becoming dependent on opioids in an attempt to manage their condition. A report recently produced by Deloitte Access Economics, ‘The Cost of Pain in Australia’, reveals that 823 Australians died in 2017/18 due to opioid use. The report also indicates that the number of Australians living with chronic pain is set to skyrocket to 5.23 million by 2050, approximately 68% of whom will be of working age[2].
Providing evidence-based pain education is crucial if we are to prevent increasing numbers of Australians living with chronic pain and developing opioid dependence. Check out the short film below to see the difference that Pain Revolution made to Trevor, a former sufferer of chronic pain.
For any additional information about Pain Revolution or the Local Pain Educator program, please contact your Client Development Manager or Strategic Partnership Manager.