Giving to end isolation

Dr. Judy Dercksen works as a general practitioner in Quesnel, BC.

At the young of 29, Eileen Davidson was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic illness which is the leading cause of long-term disability in Canadians of working age.

The following blog post was written by Rebecca McDonald, B.Sc., M.O.T., who is the co-founder of the British Columbia Pain Collective, a community of health care professionals to advance the understanding of pain neuroscience, rehabilitation and recovery. 

This past spring, Health Canada established the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF) to identify and address the barriers that prevent people with persistent pain from receiving the care and treatment they need. The Task Force released its first report in June, which assesses the current state of chronic pain care, education and research in Canada and highlights the profound impact of chronic pain on Canadians.

Keith Meldrum is no stranger to living with chronic pain, which he developed after being involved in a car accident nearly 34 years ago. Although his injuries eventually healed following years of surgeries, his pain persisted without a clear cause. It was only in 2005, nearly 20 years following the accident, that he was diagnosed with neuropathic pain while receiving treatment from an interventional pain clinic.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the Pain Society of Alberta, HELP Alberta's Pain, and the Alberta Medical Association Section of Chronic Pain recently

Pain BC has launched two new free-to-access programs this month for people living with pain in communities across BC.

The Angus Reid Institute (ARI), in partnership with the Mindset Social Innovation Foundation and Pain BC, recently looked at the issue of chronic pain in Canada.

Pain BC and the Canadian Pain Society welcome the first report by the Canadian Pain Task Force, released to the public today by Health Canada.

Brian Warriner was an esteemed anaesthesiologist and a long-time advocate of pain management. He played an instrumental role in the development of our organization. Michael Negraeff, a Pain BC Co-Founder, shares a few words on the legacy Brian leaves behind in his recent passing.

Starting this fall, Pain BC will be launching Pain Support and Wellness Groups in communities throughout the province. These in-person support groups will offer an opportunity for people living with persistent pain to learn more about pain self-management while connecting with others in pain, offering mutual understanding, and sharing knowledge and coping strategies.

The “tip of the iceberg” is an analogy I've used many times. Pain is much like the underbelly of an iceberg, with the most impressive and sizeable mass invisible below the surface.