Approximately 40 people gathered at the Park Place Lodge on February 27 to talk about something very uncomfortable: chronic pain.
As pain specialist Neil Pearson took the stage, armed with years of medical knowledge and experience as well as an informative presentation, everyone in the room focused their attention on him. Pearson’s seminar, Overcome Pain, Live Well Again was part of the Chronic Pain Conference, an event that was organized by the Chronic Pain Project in an effort to improve care for chronic pain patients in the Elk Valley.
The conference had three different seminars, two of which were targeted towards primary care workers. The event on the afternoon of February 27, however, was specifically targeted towards community members who suffer from chronic pain, or who would like to learn more about pain management.
“Pain is one of your body’s protection systems,” Pearson explained at the very beginning of his presentation. He went on to state several times that one of the most important things to understand about pain is how very complex it can be. He explained that pain and emotion are inextricably interlinked, meaning if you have long term pain, there is bound to be a heavy emotional toll from dealing with the consequences of your pain for weeks or months or years.
After explaining the physiological side of pain and answering several questions from the crowd, Pearson moved on to talk about techniques for pain care. Being an expert on chronic pain, Pearson also understood that sitting still for two hours might be a struggle for some of the people in the room. He often encouraged people to move around or stand up during his presentation as they saw fit, noting that if any group of people would understand the need to stretch and move, it would be this group.
Pearson walked people through various techniques for pain management and answered more questions from the crowd, who appeared eager to learn more about the science behind their pain.
Anne-Charlotte Sawatzky is the project manager for the Chronic Pain Project and was also in attendance at the event. She noted at the beginning of the presentation that other towns and chronic pain projects have found success with peer support groups. She encouraged people to let her know, either in person or through the evaluation forms available to everyone who attended the seminar, whether they would be interested in becoming part of a peer support group.
If you were unable to attend the seminar, are interested in a chronic pain support group or are simply looking for more information or resources, you can visit Painbc.ca/elkvalley.
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