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“I share your pain...” is more than just a glib remark for members of a support group set up by the University of Winchester for people who live with persistent pain.
Last year Stephen Martin and Dr David Wilson, Senior Lecturers in Physiotherapy, founded the Pain Peer Support Group in collaboration with the Winchester Health Clinic.
While group members receive expert advice on how to live with their conditions, Stephen says having the chance to share their experiences is equally important.
“Being in a room with other people who understand what you are going through can be very therapeutic in itself,” said Stephen. “Some members have told me that they stop feeling pain when they are at the group meetings.”
Persistent (or chronic) pain, defined as pain that last more than three months, has been described as a silent epidemic. It is estimated that 43 per cent of adults (just under 28 million people) currently live with a degree of chronic pain in the UK.
Pain's impact on the economy is huge. Of people who attended pain clinics in the UK, 41 per cent report that their pain has prevented them from working, and 13 per cent have had to reduce their working hours.
The Winchester group, which meets once a month, has members with a wide range of conditions including back pain, fibromyalgia and arthritis.
In addition to receiving advice on how to improve the quality of their life, group members take part in yoga, tai chi and meditation sessions.
Many of the group members live with daily pain which has not responded to traditional medical treatments such as painkillers.
“This isn’t a place where we will fix your pain – it’s a place where you learn to accept the pain, and manage it in ways which improve the quality of your life,” said Stephen.
One group member said: “I came along to try to understand more about pain generally and to try to find a better way to live my life. All of those I have met at the group have pain of some sort, different causes but we all have pain in common. Chatting amongst ourselves it is sometimes possible to pick up ideas that can help one or other of us to reduce our pain in some way.
“I've found something to take away from most sessions that has helped me, sometimes in only a very small way, but if it gives me hope that there may be something I can do to help myself live with the pain and find ways of coping with it better that has to be a good thing.”
Stephen explained that living with persistent physical pain can have a knock-on effect on the person’s mental health and that anxiety and depression often go hand-in-hand with physical symptoms.
Persistent pain can often lead to loss of sleep which could also lead to further physical and mental ill-health.
In addition to helping its members, the group offers a real-world learning opportunity for the University’s Physiotherapy students who attend sessions and learn how people with pain communicate.
There is no charge for group membership although members are welcome to make donations towards its running costs. It meets at Winchester Health Clinic, based at Winchester Sport & Leisure Park in Bar End Road.
To find out more about the group email stephen.martin@winchester.ac.uk.
Pictured: Pain Peer Support Group founders, Dr David Wilson and Stephen Martin, Senior Lecturers in Physiotherapy at the University of Winchester.
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