Pain Awareness Month 2024
CHANGING THE PAIN EQUATION.
During Pain Awareness Month, the U.S. Pain Foundation aims to explore the full extent of pain, highlight the necessity for better data, and raise awareness about pain research and its impact on the 51.6 million Americans living with chronic pain.
The initiative, #SolvePainTogether, will explore the full experience of chronic pain, from diagnosis to building a treatment plan to discovering who you are as a person with pain and learning to advocate for yourself. Then we’ll look at how to solve pain together, as individuals with pain, health care providers, researchers, and lawmakers. To change the pain equation, we need to start by analyzing the data and investing in more research to drive better outcomes.
We are honored to be collaborating with the National Institutes of Health on a webinar, and the Humana Neighborhood Centers on a 4-week virtual Pain Series and weekly Health Hack events. Each day, we will post insights and statistics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will also publish one article a week that focuses on different aspects of how to solve pain together — through understanding data to building a pain management plan to seeking support and advocating for yourself.
On this page, you’ll find all the information you need to become involved with our #SolvePainTogether Pain Awareness Month efforts.
#SOLVEPAINTOGETHER EVENTS
Webinar with NIH Heal Initiative®
Identifying Predictors of Chronic Pain: How the NIH HEAL Initiative® is Changing the Pain Research Landscape
The NIH HEAL Initiative® and U.S. Pain Foundation co-hosted a webinar featuring Dr. Laura Simons from Stanford, who discussed the SPRINT study on biomarkers predicting chronic musculoskeletal pain. Ashley McDonnell, a participant with chronic pain, shared her experience. Dr. Linda Porter, Director of the Office of Pain Policy and Planning at NINDS, provided an overview of NIH HEAL and highlighted the significance of identifying reliable chronic pain biomarkers.
Health hack RECORDINGS
The U.S. Pain Foundation collaborated with the Humana Neighborhood Centers to create Health Hack recordings, which are short videos focusing on different aspects of living with chronic pain. Each week during Pain Awareness Month, a new video was released. We invite you to watch and share these recordings.
Watch the Health Hack video, Understanding Life with Chronic Pain: Pain by the Numbers.
Watch the Health Hack video, The Importance of a Personalized Pain Management Plan: A Comprehensive Guide.
Watch the video, Mind Matters: The Importance of Addressing Mental Health in Pain Management.
Watch the video, Effective Communication Is Key: 7 Tips for Discussing Chronic Pain with Your Doctor.
How to Recognize and Address Caregiver Burnout — Coming September 30 (Register to watch the release live by clicking here.)
Articles
Empowered Patients, Better Outcomes: Cultivating Strong Provider Relationships
Effectively managing chronic pain goes beyond medication and therapy—it's fundamentally about the relationship between individuals living with pain and their providers. In too many cases, this relationship is fractured. In U.S. Pain Foundation’s...
Seeking Out Mental Health Care: A Step-By-Step Guide
The areas of the brain that experience pain and emotion are interconnected. It's only natural—and expected—for someone's mental health to worsen with the physical stress of their pain condition, and for their mental health issues to impact their...
Your Blueprint For Activity Modification and Pacing
Living with chronic pain can take away your sense of self. Things you once enjoyed doing may seem impossible now with the ebb and flow of your pain condition. While playing with your kids at the park or going for long bicycle rides again may feel...
How Will Having Better Data Actually Help Patients?
Look at how data drives research, new treatments, and better health outcomes—making a tangible impact on individuals’ day-to-day lives.
Changing the Pain Equation: Solving Pain Together
How does changing the pain equation solve pain? This article explores the need to understand pain fully and involve all stakeholders to improve outcomes for millions of Americans.
stay involved
There are MANY easy ways you can help create awareness about ways to #SolvePainTogether this September, such as:
- Download our free Pain Awareness Month frame for your social media profile picture.
- Like, comment, and share/retweet our daily posts on social media.
- Use the hashtags #SolvePainTogether and #ChangingThePainEquation in all your social media posts in September.
- Register and attend our webinars.
- Read and share each weekly article.
- Register and join our five Health Hack events, and reshare the videos.
- RSVP to join a waitlist for the 4-week virtual Living Well With Chronic Pain series through our collaboration with the Humana Neighborhood Centers
#SolvePainTogether
We want #SolvePainTogether to goes viral. To do that, we need your help! Share this graphic on social media with your own story about why it’s so important to work together to solve pain, using the #SolvePainTogether and #ChangingThePainEquation hashtags.
Change Your Frame
An easy way to amplify support for a cause is with your social media profile picture. Join us in changing the frame around your profile pics to inform the public about chronic pain and how we must #SolvePainTogether. Then, encourage your friends and family to do the same!
4-WEEK PAIN SERIES
Humana Neighborhood Centers, in collaboration with U.S. Pain, has developed a free, live virtual 4-week series called “Living Well With Chronic Pain.“ Each week, a new two-hour session will be offered, focusing on different aspects of pain management, including understanding pain, treatment options, mental health, and how to advocate for yourself.
This free 4-week series is open to everyone, so you don’t need to be a Humana member to attend. RSVP to join the waitlist or be invited to attend this series in the future. soon! Join the waitlist today.
RESOURCES
Curious about the latest statistics, trends, and insights on chronic pain? Explore our updated 2024 Chronic Pain Fact Sheet for all the essential data.
IN THE NEWS
- Read U.S. Pain Foundation’s press release announcing its 2024 Pain Awareness Month theme, #SolvePainTogether.
- #SolvePainTogether Pain Awareness Month Initiative Explores Full Experience of Chronic Pain | PR Newswire, September 3, 2024
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Exploring the complexities of pain management and treatment options | KRCG, September 24, 2024