Self-management
Self-management is often recommended to help people who live with pain find ways to better manage their pain without prescribed medication. This often involves identifying and practising strategies aimed at improving well-being, quality of life, mobility, sleep and even ways to help reduce the intensity of pain.
The Pain Toolkit explaining why pain self-management is important. This podcast also provides insight on the differences between using medication and self-management: using pain relief and self-management.
There is a wide range of resources and support networks available online and face to face to help you better manage your pain. These are compiled as a single resource in the Pain Toolkit, which also lists any specialist support services that may be available in your local area. The Pain Toolkit also brings together videos about pain, taking opioids for pain and how to self-manage your pain.
Flippin Pain is a good resource to help understand what chronic pain is. It is a national resource campaigning to raise awareness about how pain is understood and provides knowledge and skills on how to improve future outcomes of managing pain. It provides access to resources on better understanding pain, information on public engagement events/seminars and webinars, community pain champions and outreach events running across the UK.
The Action on pain website was developed to provide information and support for people with chronic pain and those who support them. Easy to read information is available to help explain what chronic pain is, the different types of chronic pain and terminology, how it affects you and how to manage it.
Additionally, the Living Well with Pain website was developed by someone living with chronic pain (sciatica) to share experiences and provide support. It highlights 24 tried and tested ways from the authors’ perspective on how to live better with pain including, understanding pain, making plans and goals, pacing, tracking progress, and accessing and asking for support.
