A 4-Week Challenge for Pain Awareness Month - Week 2
September is Pain Awareness Month!
This month, we’re following along with IASP’s Pain Awareness Month 4-week challenge to clinicians and researchers, but empowering individuals and families with action steps to increase understanding of pain, pain management, and the experiences of those living with chronic pain.
That starts with us!
Click here for a refresher on Pain Awareness Month and to catch up on Week 1’s challenge.
A Pain Awareness Month Challenge - Week 2
As a reminder, 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 the next step in our 4 week challenge to increase awareness of pain, particularly pain in children, teens, and young adults.
Week 2: Advocate
For the second week of the challenge, we are stepping up! Now that we’ve increased our knowledge of pain (from week 1), we’re ready to ADVOCATE.
Take a moment to consider that word and what it might mean to you. Advocacy can show up in your own healthcare, in your interactions with your family and community, or can extend beyond yourself.
As IASP reminds us, “Effective pain care requires communication, collaboration, and shared decision-making.
This week focuses on practical ways people living with pain can participate in conversations about their health and care, as well as the responsibility of healthcare professionals to listen, validate lived experience, communicate clearly, and support people in identifying approaches that are meaningful to them.”
If you’re feeling ready to take next steps, here are a few possible action items and resources to advocate for yourself or others living with pain:
Prepare for your next pain-related medical or psychology appointment using the PART method
Consider what aspects of pain care are important for you by building your own pain plan, and sharing it with your pain team
If your child or teen might benefit from accommodations at school related to pain, talk to your guidance counselor, principal, or other school staff about a possible Section 504 plan. If you’re not sure what kinds of ideas might be helpful for pain, reach out for personal consultation with me by clicking the Get Started button at the top right.
If you’re a college student, reach out to your school’s student support office (might go by a different name) to see if you might be eligible for accommodations and what documentation might be needed. It’s often easier than you think, their job is literally to help!
If your child’s pediatrician is unfamiliar with conditions such as fibromylagia, AMPS, disorders of the gut-brain axis, functional abdominal pain, or headache/migraine that won’t go away with usual meds, this is your time to educate and advocate for the right resources for your child! You can share the IASP website or please reach out to me for personalized resources.
If you feel that your child’s pain is being dismissed in any healthcare setting, such as a specialist appointment or in the ER, you are your child’s best fighter. Ask questions respectfully but repeatedly until you can reach a mutual understanding. It is true, some evidence-based practices for pain treatment are counter-intuitive, and it takes a real partnership (preview for next week!) between children, caregivers, and healthcare providers to improve lives.
Connect with education and advocacy groups such as the US Pain Foundation
If you experience headache or migraine, or know someone who does, and are interested in large-scale policies, Headache on the Hill may be a powerful program for you to join
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.