Managing Your Pain Safely and Effectively
AMA FAMILY DOCTOR WEEK, 22- 28 July 2018
Your Family Doctor: Here for you
Pain – how to manage it and how to live with it – is a major issue affecting growing numbers of individuals and families in Australia today.
AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, a Melbourne family doctor, said today that around one in 10 Australians experience acute pain, and one in five are subject to chronic pain.
“Acute pain is usually related to tissue injury, and is short lived,” Dr Bartone said.
“Chronic pain is persistent, and typically has been ongoing for longer than three months.
“In whatever form or nature, pain can rob people of quality of life and can place enormous stress on relationships and families.
“Around one in three Australians are affected with pain from arthritis or other musculoskeletal conditions.
“Managing pain for each person depends on the type and nature of the pain being experienced.
“Put simply, pain is a signal that something is not right.
“If the reason for it is not obvious, or it is ongoing, people must discuss it with their family doctor before it becomes more serious or entrenched.
“A person’s usual GP can work with them to determine the cause of the pain and the most appropriate way to treat or manage it.
“Pain can be treated in a variety of ways depending on the nature of the pain.
“Some treatments involve medications, physical or occupational therapy, or strategies for ongoing management.
“While self-medication with over-the-counter medications is often used initially by patients experiencing pain, these medications need to be treated with respect.
“If a patient has existing conditions or if they take other medications, they should openly and accurately discuss the use of over-the-counter medications with their GP. It is vitally important to understand how they might interact with existing medications.
“Trusted local GPs can determine what pain medication is right for each patient.
“Often the best prescription for pain will be as simple as exercises, therapy, and lifestyle changes.
“There is plenty to gain by talking plain with your GP about pain,” Dr Bartone said.
AMA Family Doctor Week runs from 22 to 28 July.
Follow all the action on Twitter: #amafdw18 and the Family Doctor Week Website with videos
25 July 2018
CONTACT: John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
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