Almost ten years after the onset of my first chronic pain condition, I finally got invited to a local NHS run pain management course.

I’ve previously attended the Expert Patient Programme which was also extremely good, however it was not pain/condition specific. I began to feel like I wasn’t given the opportunity to properly assess how well I was managing my pain without a pain management referral.

Other people experiences will vary, but my pain management course was an eight week training session on how to live with pain. It helps you manage flareups, start paced exercise, and help with loads of other things like continuing hobbies and getting a good nights sleep.

Everyone in chronic pain should have the opportunity to learn from experts in pain, and from prior patients, so I’ll explain what pain management is and how to get started.

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