For our Australian Members

The Chronic Pain Update

Volume 4, No. 2

April 2013

Dear Sharon Gillece , Welcome back to The Chronic Pain Update. Easter has come and gone and the season is changing. How is it where you are? We hope you are as well as you can be and with loved ones.Thanks for being interested in what we have to say, and keep sending us your feedback:national.office@chronicpainaustralia.org.au

Chronic Pain Australia Activities

Pain Tools for NSW Last edition we told you about a set of pain management tools which were under development in NSW. Chronic Pain Australia is collaborating with the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation to help ensure these tools reflect the information needs and presentation preferences of people living with pain. Chronic Pain Australia champion Dr Mandy Nielsen facilitated these groups with people living with chronic pain across NSW - Lismore, Armidale, Newcastle, Sydney and Dubbo. She completed the analysis of the focus group data and the report is now available for you to read. Click here to download a copy or go to the homepage of the Chronic Pain Australia website for more information. It was not surprising to find that people in pain want good information that explains why their pain continues beyond normal healing time, they want reliable and workable ways to learn how to manage their pain, they want more information about medicines and other strategies, what evidence there is to back them up and to learn from other people how they manage their pain. Now that this important foundation has been laid, Chronic Pain Australia is involved in progressing the development of these resources in terms of content and format. The tools will be complete by June 30, 2013 so we will keep you up to date during the coming months.

National Pain Week 2013 This year National Pain Week will be held from Monday 22 to Sunday 28 July.We are planning another Festival of Hope but this year we are aiming to run this in Brisbane. We will update you as more plans are available. We are still working on the 10,000 Faces of Pain campaign which is on the National Pain Week website. Thank you to all who supported the campaign. National Pain Week Last year - how did we go? During the week and in the months before hand we gathered around 2500 paper based signatures for the House of Reps and 600 or so online signatures, contrary to initial expectations that online would attract more signatures. Since that time even more have been sent in. We need 10,000 signatures to create a parliamentary debate. If you would like a wrap up of National Pain Week 2012 please clickhere

Connect with us With over 600 members, our free online forum is a busy place where people with chronic pain can get in touch and support each other. All you have to do is go to www.chronicpainaustralia.org.au, click the 'Forum' tab, register, and you can starting talking with others living with chronic pain throughout Australia. You can also find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChronicPainAustralia And tweet us at Twitter: @ChronicPainAust

Online Please note, Chronic Pain Australia does not endorse these online resources. If there are any online resources you find helpful, let us know.

Healthtalkonline.org - stories to inspire hope and confidence A group of British researchers have published a website which captures stories and experiences of people living with illness - including chronic pain. There are videos and transcripts, and they capture through their analysis of people's stories the important bits that point to significant parts of people's journey with pain. Click here for more

In The News

Digesic available again Chronic Pain Australia has received the following information from the manufacturers of Digesic. We know that many of our members and supporters were concerned that this medicine was being made unavailable, so this is good news. "On 5th April, 2013 the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decided that both Di-Gesic (dextropropoxyphene HCl 32.5 mg/paracetamol 325 mg) and Doloxene (dextropropoxyphene napsylate) should remain on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), subject to the implementation of conditions to promote the safe use of these medicines. The AAT’s decision was made after considering the evidence of scientific and medical experts put forward by both the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Aspen over the course of a week during 2012, and a further hearing in February 2013. Aspen will provide further details of the conditions that will be implemented in further communications to Doctors and Pharmacists. Doctors may continue to prescribe both products after carefully considering the indications, warnings and contraindications in the Product Information and Consumer Medicines Information for these products. Di-Gesic is available at retail pharmacies. Information on the availability of Doloxene, which is currently out of stock, will be provided shortly".

Gains needed on low back pain "Lower back pain in Australian adults is a massive health problem that sends more people to the doctor than any condition other than the common cold and generates a substantial economic burden. It has an enormous impact on individuals, families and workplaces." Read more

Videos

"Our medical systems are broken. Doctors are capable of extraordinary (and expensive) treatments, but they are losing their core focus: actually treating people. Doctor and writer Atul Gawande suggests we take a step back and look at new ways to do medicine -- with fewer cowboys and more pit crews. Surgeon by day and public health journalist by night, Atul Gawande explores how doctors can dramatically improve their practice using something as simple as a checklist." Click here to see the video

Publications

Acupuncture for Chronic PainIndividual Patient Data Meta-analysis. Vickers et al 2012 "Over the years there has been substantial debate about whether acupuncture really works for chronic pain. Research from an international team of experts adds to the evidence that it does provide real relief from common forms of pain. The team pooled the results of 29 studies involving nearly 18,000 participants. Some had acupuncture, some had “sham” acupuncture, and some didn’t have acupuncture at all. Overall, acupuncture relieved pain by about 50%. The results were published inArchives of Internal Medicine."

Events

Taking control of Chronic Pain - a 5 day residential program in beautiful Bundanoon NSW This residential program will include experiential activities demonstrating the power of the mind-body connection to deliver valuable insights in how to take control of pain. Petrea King, Coralie Wales and Margie Braunstein will host this program which is from 17 - 21 April 2013. Click here for more information.

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