National Pain Week

This week is National Pain Week. Chronic pain is a really big problem, affecting up to 40% of people at some point during their life. [1]

Chronic pain carries a large financial burden in Australia. A 2019 report from Deloitte estimated that the average cost for an Australian person living with chronic pain is AU$22,588-$42,979 per year when indirect costs were considered. [2]

The theme of Chronic Pain Australia’s National Pain Week this year is – CONNECTION.

And one thing we know at AXIS is that patients with chronic pain often lose connection with their workplace. This is one part of the big picture problem of the impact of chronic pain, and it is why at AXIS our pain management and rehabilitation programs have a laser focus on return to work.

Our expert clinicians work very hard to help our patient re-establish their meaningful life connections – including family, social and critically work connections. We know that being able to engage in good work is enormously beneficial for our patients physical and mental health.

At AXIS, 1 in 3 patients who start our program off work are able to return to work whilst completing their rehabilitation. We achieve this in five key ways:

1.  Allied health led by Highly experienced and qualified team

We provide an allied health led program. This means that our patients are active participants in their rehabilitation. It also means that they are able to maintain their CONNECTION with their existing care providers such as their GP or specialist.

2.  Run part-time fostering the goal of ‘return to work’

Our programs are run part-time and this allows our patients to remain at work OR return to work whilst engaging in rehabilitation. This allows them to remain CONNECTED with their employer and helps them discover that work IS rehabilitation.

3.  Comprehensive communication with all stakeholders to facilitate a positive RTW outcome

We don’t provide our rehabilitation in a silo. Coming to AXIS isn’t a holiday from the usual pressures and challenges that are present in day-to-day life. We work hard to CONNECT with our patients’ usual care team and communicate a rehabilitation plan that helps them stay on track with their recovery long after they have completed our program.

4.  Individual sessions (1:1) and tailored to the individual needs of client

We understand that every one of our patients is an individual and therefore needs an individualized recovery plan. We don’t believe in recipe approaches or that one size fits all and all of our sessions are run one on one. This ensures a strong CONNECTION between us and our patients.

5.  Flexible locations, hours and start dates

Finally, we know that having chronic pain doesn’t mean that all of the other demands on our time stops. That’s why we have positioned our clinics conveniently around South East Queensland, so that patients don’t have to commute for hours just to attend specialist care. And because we are part-time, patients can find a time that suits their schedule. That way, they stay CONNECTED with their usual life whilst they recover.

For more information on National Pain Week, visit https://www.nationalpainweek.org.au/

Source

[1] Cohen, S. P., Vase, L., & Hooten, W. M. (2021). Chronic pain: an update on burden, best practices, and new advances. The Lancet, 397(10289), 2082-2097.

[2] Deloitte Access Economics. The cost of pain in Australia. March, 2019. https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/economics/articles/cost-pain-australia.html (accessed 7 July, 2021).