National Pain Week 2023 is Australia’s annual awareness event for chronic pain.
Monash experts are available to discuss chronic pain, and the importance of reducing the social barriers related to managing and living with chronic pain.
Available to comment:
Professor Rachelle Buchbinder, Director of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Contact details: +61 418 105 043 or [email protected]
The following can be attributed to Professor Buchbinder:
“Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions cause significant pain and are a major cause of disability globally. Their prevalence is increasing with the ageing of the population.
“While there have been significant beneficial advances in treatments for inflammatory arthritis in the last two decades, overtesting, overdiagnosis and overtreatment of other musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain, shoulder pain and knee pain persist.
“National Pain Week gives us the opportunity to reflect upon how low value health care for pain, that provides no benefits to patients and might cause harm, is contributing to the burden of these conditions. Addressing public and clinician misconceptions about best evidence-based care for these conditions remains a major health challenge globally, including in Australia.”
Professor David Clarke, Professor of Psychological Medicine, Monash University
Contact details: +61 3 9594 1479 or [email protected]
The following can be attributed to Professor Clarke:
"Chronic pain is very common, and very difficult to experience. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and saps a person's energy and morale. It is a puzzle why some pains become chronic, though we know that chronic pain does not signify persistent injury; rather, it is associated with abnormal neural signalling on a background of complex biopsychosocial factors, between body and mind.
“The consequence of this is that the usual things we do when we acutely injure ourselves – rest and medication– do not help. Instead, they can lead to further complications such as drug addiction and depression. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation-style programs are what is needed.
“A focus on chronic pain can help raise awareness of the problem, reduce stigma about it, and mobilise action for a lot more research, treatment, care and compassion."
Dr Pallavi Prathivadi, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, EPIC, Monash University
Contact details: +61 409 957 867 or [email protected]
The following can be attributed to Dr Prathivadi:
“With increasing rates of chronic disease, multimorbidity and an ageing population, we will continue to see increasing rates of chronic pain. The cost of pain is enormous, to people, health systems and economies. The emotional and physical load suffered by people with chronic pain needs deep compassion and patience. The loss of function, productivity and wellbeing that commonly occurs with chronic pain needs far more awareness, discussion and improvement.
“In my expertise as a specialist GP and opioid policy researcher, I urge for more systems-level interventions to support and treat people with chronic pain. Increased subsidisation of non-pharmaceutical treatment (such as physiotherapy and pain psychological services), multidisciplinary pain management programs and pain education can help improve safety in chronic pain treatment. Efforts need to help reduce unsafe or unnecessary opioid prescriptions (and related morbidity and mortality), improve prescriber and healthcare stigma towards people with chronic pain, improve reimbursement to providers of pain management care, and incentivise evidence-based treatment approaches.”
For more Monash media stories visit our news & events site: monash.edu/news
For more information on National Pain week: https://chronicpainaustralia.org.au/painchanger/
For any other topics on which you may be seeking expert comment, contact the Monash University Media Unit on +61 3 9903 4840 or [email protected]
