Image via drweisgerber (flickr)
Young adults suffering from chronic pain will benefit from a new study testing ways people with the condition can improve their brain function.
The Monash University and Caulfield Pain Management and Research Centre study follows research that found people with chronic pain have difficulty with simple tasks such as remembering a phone number or set of directions.
Katharine Baker, doctoral student from the School of Psychological Sciences and one of the research leaders, said the area of cognition is only just being recognised as an issue for people with chronic pain.
“[Our study released earlier this year] found people with chronic pain were having a lot of trouble with working memory, which is the ability to hold large amounts of information in the mind at once,” she said.
“[This next study involves] participants trying out brain training style activities on their computers at home several times a week over eight weeks to see if those exercises can improve their attention, memory, speed of thinking and ability to solve complex tasks.”
The strategies could help chronic pain sufferers of all ages improve working memory skills, benefitting their studies, work and daily activities.
“There are plenty of young people with chronic pain, it’s not just a condition that affects older people,” Ms Baker said.
Australia’s National Pain Strategy says one in five Australians, including children and adolescents, will suffer chronic pain in their lifetime and up to 80 per cent of sufferers are missing out on treatment that could improve their health and quality of life.
Learning how to manage pain
Kimberley describes her journey as she learns to manage her pain
Costing the Australian economy $34 billion per annum, chronic pain is the nation’s third most costly health problem.
Painaustralia’s CEO Lesley Brydon said there is a massive gap in the supply of services for young people with chronic pain and education programs are very limited.
“Even young people can experience back pain, migraines, pain associated with immune disorders or injury and these are very poorly treated – there is a great need to have better services,” she said. “Patients need to have proper education about the nature of pain and the self-management strategies they can incorporate into their everyday lives to help improve their functionality.”
JavaScript is not available.
No Description
RMIT’s Disability Liaison Unit (DLU) has strategies in place for university students who suffer from chronic pain and may experience disruptions in their learning.
“We do it on an individually assessed basis,” the spokeswoman said. “These include extensions without formally going through a consideration process… we also put in conditions for exams, for example, rest breaks where the student can stand up and stretch, smaller exam locations, extra time and allowing students to bring in any aids they may need.”
