Middletown, Conn. (Aug. 27, 2019) – An estimated 50 million Americans live with some form of chronic pain. Pain is the leading cause of long-term disability, costs the United States up to $635 billion a year, and is the number one reason Americans visit the doctor. Yet there’s an incredible lack of awareness about pain as a public health issue.
“The only way we can create change is if we start speaking up–to loved ones, coworkers, neighbors, clinicians, and even policymakers,” says Nicole Hemmenway, Interim CEO of U.S. Pain Foundation, the leading national nonprofit for people with pain. “Pain is silent, but we don’t have to be.”
During Pain Awareness Month, which begins Sept. 1, U.S. Pain Foundation is collaborating with presenting sponsor, Thrive Tape–creators of an innovative, far-infrared kinesiology tape–to bring pain to the forefront of public conversations through the theme, “Let’s Talk about Pain.”
U.S. Pain Foundation will be hosting numerous interactive activities and events tied to the theme, including a daily video story about the life of a person living with pain; weekly educational events, including conversations with the editor of National Pain Report and the director of the film Becoming Incurable; a social media challenge with special giveaways; Shine Blue for Pain, which lights up landmarks in blue in honor of pain warriors, on Sept. 13; the presentation of state and local proclamations designating September as Pain Awareness Month; a downloadable toolkit of resources to share; and more.
“We are incredibly grateful to Thrive Tape for their generous sponsorship, which has made all of these exciting events and activities possible,” says Hemmenway. “Together, we hope that creating more dialogue about pain will help lead to more education, more support, and better care.”
Here are details about the various activities and events happening this year:
Storyathon. Each day in September, U.S. Pain will be sharing a video story of a patient living with pain. These patients—from all across the country—bravely submitted their personal stories in August to help create awareness. To watch the videos, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Missed the video storyathon? Share your 200-word story with us! We’ll compile a selection of the stories to share as a post on our blog, “Remedy,” in October. Share your story now!
Educational events. U.S. Pain will be hosting weekly events tied to the “Let’s Talk about Pain” theme, including: “Talking publicly about pain: A Q&A with Ed Coghlan of National Pain Report.” on Sept. 5 at 1 pm EST, “Expression and movement: Dancing with chronic pain,” on Sept. 10 at 8 pm EST, “Becoming Incurable: A Q&A with Film Director Victoria Suan” on Sept. 17 at 1 pm EST, and and more. Get details and register here.
Social media challenge—plus, giveaways. Throughout the month, U.S. Pain will be posting fun daily tasks on its social media channels. On some days, participation will enter you to win awesome prizes, including: kinesiology tape from presenting sponsor, Thrive Tape; a high-frequency transcutaneous nerve stimulation pain-relief device from Quell by Neurometrix; a pulsed electromagnetic fields pain-relief device from OSKA; a high-frequency impulse therapy pain-relief device from ENSO; and a copy of a new book from Amy Orr: “Taming Chronic Pain.” Learn more.
Resources and materials. U.S. Pain has a toolkit of downloadable and printable materials—including flyers, infographics, social media graphics, sample posts, and profile picture frames—to help spread the word about chronic pain during September. Access the toolkit here.
Public awareness efforts. U.S. Pain Foundation volunteers have been busy coordinating state and local proclamations, getting buildings and landmarks to light up in blue on Sept. 13, decorating locations in blue signage, and organizing wear blue days for Sept. 27, and more. To see these efforts in action, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About U.S. Pain Foundation
The U.S. Pain Foundation is the leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for people living with chronic pain. The mission of the U.S. Pain Foundation is to empower, educate, connect, and advocate for individuals living with chronic illness that causes pain, as well as their caregivers and clinicians. For more information, visit www.uspainfoundation.org.
About Thrive Tape
Thrive Tape is an empowering lifestyle brand that supports everyday people by allowing them to “Live Life and Push Boundaries.” The company has designed and developed a far-infrared kinesiology tape, which improves the quality of life for consumers of all age groups. Thrive far-infrared kinesiology tape is also hypoallergenic and latex-free. Learn more: https://thrivetape.com/.