According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in five Australians over the age of 45
lives with chronic pain, at an estimated annual cost of $139 billion. 

They are five times as likely as those without chronic pain to be limited in their daily activities and three times as likely to be dispensed opioids, among other analgesics.

Chronic pain affects people’s ability to work, exercise and socialise and increases the likelihood of developing mental health conditions.

Treating, managing and preventing chronic pain must be a national healthcare priority. 

The APA is calling on the government to expand funding for physiotherapy in pain management.

Physiotherapy provides effective treatment for all pain conditions and is central to the treatment of chronic pain as part of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management.

Physiotherapists work across many areas—including musculoskeletal, neurological, oncological, paediatric and cardiorespiratory practice—and are able to draw on a broad scope of practice to educate, guide and support people with chronic pain towards a better quality of life. 

They help get patients moving, which is critical to managing persistent chronic pain. 

Visit the APA Valuing skills series—physiotherapy in pain management fact sheet for more information about the wide-ranging role of physiotherapists in the prevention, assessment and treatment of chronic pain.

Pain is an experience with which all people are familiar and physiotherapists play a crucial role in its management. 

As the research into pain management advances and we discover more about the complexities of pain, there is an emerging need to upskill non-pain-specialty clinicians to work confidently with individuals challenged by pain. 

This is explored in depth in the feature article on pain in this month’s issue of InMotion, along with mindfulness and cognitive behaviour therapy and the effect of interpersonal relationships on chronic pain.

To mark National Pain Week in the last week of July, other articles look at sex and gender disparities in pain, new research in pelvic pain education, a smartphone app to help people with back pain and the development of a new care pathway for knee osteoarthritis, a debilitating condition that often leads to chronic pain. 

Speaking of the latest news, research and technology, the APA Pain national group offers members access to a wide range of tailored educational and research resources that are included with your group fee. 

Whether through regular e-communications, pain-specific publications or upcoming events, you’ll be informed about the latest professional issues and clinical topics.

Being a physiotherapy professional means continually upgrading your professional knowledge, skills and practice to ensure that the contribution you make to healthcare is of the highest standard. 

The APA offers a number of courses that cover the application of a biopsychosocial framework for the
assessment and management of pain, the appropriateness of different treatment approaches for pain-related presentations and client-centred clinical assessment and management.

You can also unlock the next level of your physiotherapy career with the Australian College of Physiotherapists. 

Currently, there are 133 members who are titled in the discipline of Pain and of these, six are Specialist Pain Physiotherapists. 

Titling and specialisation are available for a wide range of clinical practice areas. 

Visit australian.physio/pd/career-pathway for more information on how you can develop your career.

Additionally, look out for our upcoming pain lecture series, which includes topics on pain and diet, pain and sleep, and pain and physical activity. 

Visit australian.physio/pd/career-pathway and cpd4physios for details about these lectures and more.

Kristy Grady
APA General Manager, Education