April 12th, 2023 11:33 am

PainAustralia Survey Report: Impact of opioid regulatory reforms on people living with chronic pain

By |2023-04-12T11:33:10+10:00April 12th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , , |

When will patients be understood and listened to?! It’s obviously necessary to have a peak body addressing the needs of the pain community. Still, the frustration of [...]

February 25th, 2023 11:06 am

Introducing Nerita Lewis, Founder of Jaspen, a new social platform

By |2023-02-25T11:11:25+11:00February 25th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , |

In 2011 when I built pudendalnerve.com.au, the internet was starved of helpful communities and resources. It was the very reason my advocacy began. I didn't want anyone to be as lost as I was on my search for important health information. There were few online portals where people could connect, and the only health information available was through science journals – no individual could understand them! Health orgs that did have a web presence seemed not to have a dialogue with the consumers they claimed to exist for. Thank goodness that's changing, but we still have a way to go as the usual questions remain; What is chronic pain? How can we manage chronic pain and its symptoms and effects? What are the best treatments, and why is there such a lack of understanding? etc This is where Nerita Lewis comes in with her idea to democratise healthcare with Jaspen.

October 4th, 2022 2:30 pm

WEBINAR: Can visualising the personal health experience lead to better care and understanding?

By |2022-10-04T14:30:46+11:00October 4th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Events|Tags: , , , , , , |

Can visualising the personal health experience lead to better care and understanding? You all know what I think and believe about this. But now, I'm aiming to inform the rest of [...]

September 24th, 2022 11:50 am

My Lived Experience at CODA Conference

By |2023-02-25T11:08:42+11:00September 24th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Events, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , , |

The Primary Care workshop at this year's CODA Conference was my favorite lived experience contribution to date! The workshop approach was more effective than my other 'standup gigs'. Something has clicked with me lately – I've stepped out of chronic illness's emotional and physical sides and more often partaking in health education. I like it! We must believe that twitches, spasms, toilet function-changing effects, noise, screaming, soreness, stabbing, burning, itching, fatiguing, and draining effects of chronic pain can be controlled. If you had told me this between my first and 4.5-year mark, I would have felt angry and said, 'My issue is severe, far more serious than everyone realises, and my healthcare practitioners are all missing the terrible thing in my body, and I am going to die from it.'

March 4th, 2022 1:26 pm

CODA 2022: My Lived Experience and I Will Be There

By |2022-03-04T13:40:36+11:00March 4th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , |

I'm thrilled to be invited to another educational event IN REAL LIFE I might add.  I really enjoy collaborating with Dr Paul Grinzi as a lot of his educational workshops have a great focus on communication. If people and their health teams can't connect then care isn't going to happen. So how do you reach, connect and help people who live with chronic pain? Come along and learn! PRIMARY AND ACUTE CARE Chronic persistent pain is a common clinical issue, and yet most of us have received very little training in how to best manage patients experiencing this. Not only do we have to manage the clinical and psychosocial issues presented by the patient, we have to recognise and manage our own biases as clinicians. The format for the workshop utilises patient experiences, clinical cases and new frameworks to help further our understanding of persistent pain and how to assist our patients. There is a specific focus on management within the community, but also opportunities to explore the challenges within the emergency and inpatient hospital interfaces. By the end of this half-day, you’ll have optimised your approach, and may find this topic a little less painful.

February 6th, 2022 3:31 pm

Evelyn Hecht’s Pelvic Sense

By |2023-01-02T11:05:05+11:00February 6th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , |

Evelyn totally has PelvicSense! And thankfully, Evelyn made an online pelvic healing home program out of it. It includes an easy-to-understand book, calming audios with music, downloads, and many gently progressive pelvic exercise videos. I was thrilled to chat and meet Evelyn Hecht PT recently. It is refreshing to speak to a healthcare professional who has the care factor and exudes warmth and understanding.

October 26th, 2021 4:44 pm

Enlightenment For Pain Labels

By |2021-10-27T12:30:38+11:00October 26th, 2021|Categories: Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , |

Enlightenment For Pain Labels What a breath of fresh air this information is! Some of the things I learned reading The Lightning Process have stuck with me, like being able to tip my head under the tap to rinse my mouth after brushing my teeth. I better explain that.

Go to Top