Three-pronged approach could improve the lives of chronic pain sufferers

However, UniSA PhD candidate and 2021 Australian Survivor champion, Hayley Leake believes a three-pronged approach to learning about pain could improve the lives of sufferers.

Ms Leake's research shows that adults who recover from chronic pain value learning three pain concepts:

1. Pain does not mean that my body is damaged

2. Thoughts, emotions, and experiences affect pain

3. I can retrain my overprotective pain system.

"Modern pain science suggests that pain is a protective output from the brain in response to threat. Threat may take many forms, not just what's happening in your body, but also your thoughts, emotions and context," said Ms Leake.

"In the final challenge on Survivor, I stood on narrow pegs for almost five and a half hours. To manage that pain, I tried to de-threaten the challenge in my mind by repeating to myself: 'My feet are strong, my body is safe, this is not dangerous.' Having a deeper than usual understanding of how pain works thanks to my research, and how strong and resilient our body tissue is, probably also reduced my pain during that task.

"Using this same model - less threat equals less pain - I'm exploring misconceptions about pain. Primarily, the misconception that pain reflects tissue damage.

"By reframing knowledge of pain, I'm hopeful that we can make a positive difference to the lives of people challenged by chronic pain."

Ms Leake's research explored the value of pain science education among 97 participants. The results showed that pain science education helped people recover from chronic pain by understanding that it did not mean their body was injured; that stress and emotion can heighten perceptions of pain; and that it was possible to reframe pain as an 'overprotection' that could be reduced.