Pain patients need and deserve a seat at the table (even if it means bringing in a cot!). On Feb. 12, they finally got one.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) for including Cindy Steinberg, National Director of Policy and Advocacy for U.S. Pain, during its hearing on ‘Managing Pain During the Opioid Crisis,'” says Interim CEO Nicole Hemmenway. “We are even more grateful to Cindy for bravely sharing her story and perspective.”

Steinberg, who lives with chronic, debilitating back pain as the result of a workplace accident, has dedicated her life to advocating for better care for the pain community.

At the hearing, she urged Congress to restore more balance to opioid prescribing and to improve pain care overall by funding and implementing measures outlined in the new Pain Management Best Practices draft report. In particular, she emphasized the importance of investing in research on safer, more effective treatment options, from medical devices to complementary therapies to medical cannabis.

You can watch a recording of the hearing here, or download Steinberg’s written testimony here.