Empowered Relief – supporting black communities with chronic pain

To combat the impact of chronic pain on the black community, Black Thrive are working with RTW Plus (an organisation that provides rehabilitation support to meet the needs of people who suffer from persistent pain) and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity to deliver the ‘Living Well with Pain Programme’. They’re offering black residents a free two-hour, evidenced-based pain management workshop called Empowered Relief. The class will teach you cutting edge strategies and how to use them to manage your pain. The next session takes place on Tuesday 21 September 2021 from 3pm to 5pm. Register here.

What is chronic pain and why do we care about this?
Chronic pain is classified as pain that lasts more than 12 weeks despite medication or treatment. Sometimes pain lasts for longer than expected after injury or operation, or comes on without any obvious cause. Chronic pain affects over 8 million people in the UK, preventing them from being able to get on with their usual day-to-day activities.

In Lambeth chronic pain is the second most common long-term health condition and Black people are almost twice as likely to suffer from it than White or Asian ethnic groups.

Find us at the Black Thrive CommUNITY Assembly this Saturday!
You can also join us this Saturday 18 September at the Black Thrive CommUNITY Assembly to find out more about the support available. We’ll be at the afternoon session from 2pm to 4pm. Find out more and register here.

Useful links for people suffering with chronic pain

Guys & St Thomas’s INPUT Pain Management Unit – www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/perioperative/pain/input-pain-management-unit.pdf
Ways to manage chronic pain – www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/ways-to-manage-chronic-pain
10 footsteps to living with pain – www.livewellwithpain.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/10-footsteps-v2.pdf
Pain toolkit – www.paintoolkit.org

Useful links for clinicians
How to live well with pain – www.livewellwithpain.co.uk
NICE Guidance for chronic pain – https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng193