Re-think. Re-engage. Recover. Pain Revolution puts the brakes on persistent pain

02 September 2024

Pain Revolution team A peloton of passionate pain experts is set to cycle across regional SA and Victoria in a push to revolutionise what we think and know about persistent pain.

Sponsored by UniSA and AIA Australia, the Pain Revolution team will cycle 750km from Mount Gambier to Horsham between 14-21 September, delivering dynamic seminars about the science of pain and what people struggling with chronic pain can do to create positive change.

Comprising a cycling team of 21 dedicated pain researchers, clinicians, carers, and champions (and supported by a 16-person crew) the Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour will commence at Mount Gambier on 14 September, cycling to Beachport, Coonawarra, Hamilton, Ararat, and Halls Gap, ending in Horsham on Saturday 21 September.

At locations along the way, the Pain Revolution will deliver free ‘The Science of Why We Hurt’ sessions for local communities to better understand the complex science behind pain in an accessible and entertaining way.

The team will also offer two special half-day events for health professionals: PainFest in Mount Gambier and Pain SkillsFest in Horsham to expand their knowledge of pain and help inform best practice.

In Australia, one in five people suffer from persistent pain. People who live in regional and remote Australia are more likely to have chronic pain than those who live in major cities.

Pain Revolution CEO and UniSA Professor Lorimer Moseley AO, says it’s time to revolutionise how we go about solving the problem of persistent pain.

“There’s no doubt that chronic pain is crippling rural and regional Australia. But our understanding of chronic pain and how best to treat it has transformed over the past two decades,” Prof Moseley says.

“People living in rural and country areas have a higher prevalence of chronic pain, but have less access to appropriate pain management interventions, and through the Pain Revolution’s Rural Outreach Tour, we’re looking to change this.

“But the evidence is clear: the first and critical step is helping people rethink how pain works and how they already have the resources, built in inside them, to reduce its impact and head towards recovery.

“We have learnt so much about how best to tackle chronic pain, but it is hard, and it requires a team effort.

“The Pain Revolution’s mission is to share this knowledge and to empower people to return to the activities and life they want but at the moment can’t get to because of chronic pain. We all know someone in this situation and it’s time to get moving, together, to reduce the impact of what is currently humanity’s most disabling health condition.”

Prof Moseley says that local professionals play a vital role in educating rural communities about pain.

“Rural health professionals are the lynchpins of an education-based pain revolution. We train and support them to gain a new understanding of pain and then bring that to their colleagues, patients and communities.

“We must recognise the power of understanding a new way to tackle the problem and ‘dance to the data’ that backs that up.

“Bringing the peloton of science, education, clinical and lived experience experts, to the regions reflects our commitment to building capacity and sustainable impact to these regions.

“Ultimately, the goal is to create a domino effect in pain understanding: providing rural health professionals with foundational pain science knowledge, and helping them to bring their discoveries to their peers and communities.

“Together, and only together, we can reduce the enormous impact of persistent pain.”

Daniel Searle, a regional physiotherapist from Albury and accredited Local Pain Educator, is joining the 2024 Pain Revolution Outreach Tour. Vision Impaired since age 16, Searle will be riding tandem with the Tour’s ride leader.

“There are no quick fixes for pain, but understanding how pain works is the starting point for people to do something about it,” Searle says.

“By talking with regional Australians and helping them learn how pain education can reframe their experiences, we can change commonly held beliefs about pain.

“Riding tandem in this year’s Rural Outreach Tour is symbolic of this – when you work in synergy with a trusted health professional, you can achieve great things – that’s how I’m looking at the Tour this year.

“Australians of all ages shouldn’t have to just cope with pain, and it’s my passion to help them not only survive but thrive beyond it.”

Notes to editors