Chronic pain

Chronic Pain is defined as continuous pain for more than three months, and is usually associated with injuries, surgery and medical conditions such as cancer, arthritis and lower back pain. In some cases there is no evident cause or treatment.

On average one third of Australians are in pain of some sort at any one time, and when a cause is treated there is often ongoing associated pain afterwards. There are a number of management strategies for chronic pain such as acupuncture, massage therapy and pain-killing medications. Medical studies have also concluded that the quality of life can be improved depending upon how an individual copes emotionally with pain and their outlook on life.

Additional resources and information are available online through websites such as these:

• Pain Support.
• Pain Education.

Both feature a wide range of links, tips and pain management strategies that will be of benefit to sufferers of Chronic Pain.