People living with chronic pain in the Black Country were invited to a series of informative events last week to help understand and manage their pain.
Hosted by Flippin Pain™ - a public health campaign with the of goal of changing the way people think about, talk about and treat persistent pain - the events included an interactive Brain Bus experience as well as a free public seminar.
The Brain Bus experience was at Bentley Bridge Retail Park in Wolverhampton on Wednesday 28 September, before making its way to Merry Hill Retail Park in Brierley Hill the following day. People who visited the bus took part in a number of interactive activities, such as optical illusions, sensory experiments, and a virtual reality experience, to help show how the human brain and our senses can affect our experience of pain.
The public seminar took place on Thursday 29 September at the YMCA Western Gateway in West Bromwich. The session aimed to offer a fun, informative, and easy to understand exploration of pain and evidence-based approaches to managing it. People from across the Black Country were able to share their own experiences of pain with a panel of experts.
Included in the panel was 39-year-old Nikki Ellis from Wolverhampton, who has lived with chronic pain for more than 14 years. She said: “I first started feeling weakness in my legs when I was 25. It soon spread to my arms, and I was experiencing a range of symptoms including constant pain, fatigue, dizziness, and lack of focus. All the tests I had came back inconclusive and the original cause of my pain still hasn’t been found.
“I have a motto that ‘I’d rather live my life in pain, than not live it at all’, so I try to get out and about as much as I can. I see my friends and family, and I’m a single parent to my 14-year-old daughter. I don’t let my chronic pain stop me from living my life and that’s the message I pass to my patients as well.
“It was great to speak at the seminar last week about my personal experience with chronic pain and the control techniques that I’ve learnt over the last 14 years to help manage my pain. The audience was really engaged, which was fantastic – I always say that change and progression has to start with you. Understanding pain is a great starting point to a road to recovery but the work has to start from within, so it was great to see everyone's eagerness to learn.”
Richard Pell, Campaign Director for Flippin’ Pain™, said: “Our team was kept really busy at both Bentley Bridge and Merry Hill with local people stopping by to tell us their stories of living with persistent pain.
“For some, pain was a niggling interference that they were reluctantly learning to live with, whilst for others it was close to becoming all-consuming – robbing them of their independence, their identity, and of the things that bring enjoyment to their lives.
“A common theme that emerged throughout was that myths and misinformation about pain – what it is, why it often persists and ways to manage it – are everywhere. With so much misunderstanding about pain, those affected by it often are ill-equipped to take steps towards improvement.
“The key messages we shared with local people through the Brain Bus Experience and public seminar at YMCA West Bromwich really resonated with Black Country residents, with many telling us their understanding of pain had ‘flipped’, giving them fresh hope and opportunities for a new way forward.”
People living with chronic pain in the Black Country are also being reminded that there is help and support available.
Dr Ananta Dave, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “Living with chronic pain can be incredibly difficult. Anyone experiencing chronic pain will tell you that it doesn’t just affect your body, it also impacts your mental and emotional state.
“It can be extremely stressful and have a huge impact on your life, especially when you can’t carry on with your daily activities.
“While chronic pain can’t always be cured, it can be managed. There are a number of NHS pain management services and online resources available, to help those living with chronic pain learn strategies and techniques that can help manage their pain effectively.
“It’s important to remember that help is always available, and if you’re living with chronic pain, you are not alone.”
For more information on how to get help for chronic pain, visit the NHS website here.
For more information on Flippin Pain™, visit the website here.
