CHRONIC pain is as big a health issue in our community as diabetes but without the same public attention, according to pain specialist Kiran Tippur.
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One in five Australians experience chronic pain issue but the Ballarat Health Services specialist said the complex nature of such conditions made it hard to rally strong awareness.
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, who juggles chronic back pain, is adding to a growing voice as National Pain Week ambassador. A role model for how to lead an active, involved life, Clarke says it is about learning as much as possible to manage pain effectively.
Dr Tippur said he always asks patients what they hope for their best outcome, because he was not able to guarantee a cure, just a tailored best management plan. He leads a multi-disciplinary approach within BHS working to meet an increasing patient demand.
And there was no ‘one size fits all’ approach.
“Pain is an individual experience. It is complex – not just physical but an emotional experience as well – particularly with chronic pain, it is not all about the pain part of it people are suffering from,” Dr Tippur said.
“It is biopsychosocial: physical, psychological and social circumstances. Its chronic nature means depression is common and people may become isolated from family and friends, which can also lead to relationship issues.
“...The best way of treating pain is not just using medicine. It’s about treating all aspects of pain and because everyone is quite different some people may benefit from some treatments, like injections or psychology, better than others.”
Dr Tippur said pain management needed to be treated quite delicately to avoid over-treating and potentially creating other problems.
Pain specialists are part of a relatively new field of medicine. Dr Tippur said the past 10 years had moved away from just pain medication to new drugs, holistic approaches and treatments like neuromodulation, which treats nerves directly and changes the way the nervous system works.
An anaesthetist by trade, Dr Tippur went back for a further two years’ study to specialist in pain management. He said pain specialists were rare – he was the only one in BHS – but growing in voice.
National Pain Week is an initiative of Chronic Pain Australia and the Faculty of Pain and Medicine. The week aims to make more Australian aware of how many people in their communities were struggling with chronic pain and to raise awareness for better pain support services.