A 4-Week Challenge for Pain Awareness Month - Week 1

September is Pain Awareness Month!

What is Pain Awareness Month?

I get it. You’re aware of your pain all the time.

But you know who isn’t aware of your pain? Sadly, lots of people.

You might be surprised to know that pediatric chronic pain is actually quite common - estimates range from about 1 in 9 young adults and upwards of 1 in 3 children. You’re really not alone!

That may may feel surprising, because we don’t talk about pain enough! This gap in awareness leads to a lot of misunderstanding in the community and even in healthcare.

Pain Awareness Month was developed in collaboration with numerous pain research, clinical, and advocacy societies to spread awareness and understanding of pain, pain treatment, and the experiences of those living with pain.

Spreading awareness can take time and effort from individuals and communities coming together. That can feel overwhelming, so instead, let’s take a bite-size approach. Keep coming back here to find a weekly challenge and choose from a list of actionable items. These will range in time, effort, and personal preferences, so my best recommendation is choose 1-2 that make the most sense for you!

A Pain Awareness Month Challenge - Week 1

The International Association for the Study of Pain challenged its members this month to a focus each week for spreading awareness of pain.

Even if you’re not a pain researcher, you can do a lot to spread awareness too! Mirroring the IASP challenge, here is a 4 week challenge to help yourself and your pain community:

Week 1: Understand

For the first week of the challenge, start by deepening your own knowledge about pain. If you’re feeling ready, spread this knowledge to others! Here are a few possible action items:

• Reflect on how much you already know about pain! It’s probably more than you think.

• Watch an educational YouTube video (these ones were proven to increase children’s knowledge of pain and pain management!)

  • Understanding pain – and what’s to be done about it in 10 minutes

  • Migraines - How they work and how to get them under control!

  • Tension-Type Headaches - How they work and how to get them under control!

• Dig deeper by exploring the Pain Bytes website with videos and text

• Read a book! Some ones recommended for parents include:

  • When Your Child Hurts by Rachael Coakely

  • Managing Your Child’s Chronic Pain by Tonya Palermo & Emily Law

  • Conquering Your Child’s Chronic Pain by Lonnie Zeltzer

• Learn terminology from the IASP website

• Review pain guides from the US Pain Foundation

• If you or your child has migraine, the American Migraine Foundation has many helpful patient guides

• Listen to the Chronic Pain Reset podcast (Apple, Spotify)

  • This episode with yours truly (Apple, Spotify)

• Check out my previous post from Pain Awareness Month 2024 with additional resources

If you’re looking for more personal guidance on understanding or treating you or your child’s pain, please click the Get Started button at the top right of your screen for a free consultation call.