Riding for a revolution in chronic pain

Riding long distances on a bicycle is a pain in the butt.

That didn't stop a mob of pain clinicians, researchers and supporters cycling 750 kilometres from Sydney to Albury-Wodonga in the south west of NSW.

It was the aptly named Pain Revolution Ride.  

Stopping at Wollongong, Nowra, Canberra, Cooma and Corryong it was a pedal-powered pain education tour across rural New South Wales.

A year ago, after the completion of the first Pain Revolution Ride, Pain Revolution founder, University of South Australia’s Professor Lorimer Moseley, and the first bunch of Pain Revolution riders discussed whether or not they should it again. There was no doubt – although the road was long, the training hard, the budget tight and the organisational efforts massive, the Pain Revolution had to ride again.
 
The first ride in April 2017 saw a group of 24 pain scientists, clinicians and supporters cover 870 kilometres from Melbourne to Adelaide.
 
During this year’s ride, National Health and Medical Research Council-funded researchers, Tasha Stanton and Dan Harvie, drove the aptly-called Brain Bus into shopping malls and onto village squares, using illusions and fun experiments to open minds about the brain and pain. Led by internationally renowned pain educator, Dr David Butler, the Pain Revolutionaries also conducted ten educational seminars during the ride, reaching 800 members of the public and 250 health professionals with new information about pain.
 
The riders and supporters heard stories of people who had taken three buses to get to the events and held cake stalls to raise money to support the cause. In Corryong almost every local health professional met in the community health centre to learn about emerging pain research and what can be done to help people recover.

A year ago, after the completion of the first Pain Revolution ride, Pain Revolution founder, University of South Australia’s Professor Lorimer Moseley, and the first bunch of Pain Revolution riders discussed whether or not they should it again. There was no doubt – although the road was long, the training hard, the budget tight and the organisational efforts massive, the Pain Revolution had to ride again.
 
The first ride in April 2017 saw a group of 24 pain scientists, clinicians and supporters cover 870 kilometres from Melbourne to Adelaide. A year later, in April 2018, 21 riders covered 750 kilometres from Sydney to Albury-Wodonga, stopping at Wollongong, Nowra, Canberra, Cooma and Corryong.
 
During this year’s ride, National Health and Medical Research Council-funded researchers, Tasha Stanton and Dan Harvie, drove the aptly-called Brain Bus into shopping malls and onto village squares, using illusions and fun experiments to open minds about the brain and pain. Led by internationally renowned pain educator, Dr David Butler, the Pain Revolutionaries also conducted ten educational seminars during the ride, reaching 800 members of the public and 250 health professionals with new information about pain.
 
The riders and supporters heard stories of people who had taken three buses to get to the events and held cake stalls to raise money to support the cause. In Corryong almost every local health professional met in the community health centre to learn about emerging pain research and what can be done to help people recover.

The Pain Revolution Ride is a fundraiser to support the growth of the Local Pain Educator Network, which is establishing a framework for community-based pain education in regional areas. Local Pain Educators are health professionals who receive postgraduate education in pain science through a scholarship with the University of South Australia and ongoing mentoring with leading clinicians and researchers. This network will form a web of support and evidence-based education that people in pain can access in their own community
 
Despite ongoing calls for a national approach to pain, people in rural and remote Australia remain disadvantaged when it comes to accessing pain services. Pain clinics, pain specialists and health professionals trained in pain management tend to be concentrated in larger urban centres – mostly capital cities – and specialised paediatric pain support is even more limited. For some people, it means travelling interstate for help. For others, it means missing out altogether, because costs are prohibitive, or travel is not possible.
 
"We had to find a way to get the exciting pain discoveries – cause for genuine hope and opportunity – into the bush, where the need is massive and the community is strong and willing", said Lorimer Moseley. "The outstanding local champions and now the Local Pain Educators, stand to make a really significant difference. The Pain Revolution week was transformative and we are really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead when we take a whole-of-community approach."
 
The Pain Revolution 2018 was sponsored by platinum sponsor AIA, gold sponsor the University of South Australia and silver sponsor Gallagher Bassett.
 
For further information on Pain Revolution, visit www.painrevolution.org and for more information about the Local Pain Educator Network email Angie Clerc-Hawke at [email protected]

For more information about pain management visit Painaustralia.