26 April 2012
More than 400 recreational cyclists will don their lycra this weekend in Adelaide’s inaugural Ride for Pain, a community bike ride designed to help raise awareness about the frequently overlooked issue of chronic pain.
The ride on Sunday (April 29) is the brainchild of UniSA’s Professor of Clinical Neurosciences Lorimer Moseley, who will wear the UniSA Ride for Pain jersey as he takes part in the 100km route of the ride, which includes the notoriously difficult hill climb up Corkscrew Road in the Adelaide Hills.
Prof Moseley is bringing chronic pain firmly into the spotlight this week, not only in leading the Ride for Pain alongside champion cyclist Patrick Jonker, but also as a keynote speaker in a major international conference focusing on pain and stress.
The NOI 2012 – ‘Neurodynamics and the Neuromatrix’ – conference is being held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from today through to Saturday (April 26 to 28) as an ‘extravaganza for pain clinicians’ and features Prof Moseley speaking on day three of the conference on the concept of a cortical body matrix.
Prof Moseley says people in pain often make some startling remarks about their body.
“Pain sufferers might deny ownership over a painful body part, think it is too big or say that it has a mind of its own,” he says.
“There are several research teams who have gone about making sense of these statements and their discoveries are intriguing. In my talk, I will present the idea of a cortical body matrix – a network of neuronal loops that takes responsibility for maintaining the body and the space around it, both physically and psychologically.
“I will suggest that disruption of this cortical body matrix is a common theme in chronic pain and other conditions and that this disruption might play a role in the development and maintenance of chronic pain.”
Prof Moseley says he is delighted 400 people are joining the Ride for Pain on Sunday morning, which in addition to raising community awareness, will also raise money for chronic pain research. Chronic pain is a huge problem in Australia, with one in five people suffering from a chronic pain disorder that reduces their quality of life.
The Ride for Pain features two routes – the 100km Adelaide Hills endurance ride and a 35km beach ride. Both rides depart from the UniSA City East Campus lawns on the corner of North Terrace and Frome Road. The Adelaide Hills ride departs at 8.30am sharp, with the beach ride departing at 9.15am.
Go to www.unisa.edu.au/rideforpain for more information.
Media contact
- Kelly Stone office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au
