Chronic pain relief with online clinic

Online pain clinic — clinical story

Associate Professor Blake Dear is co-director of Macquarie University’s not-for-profit eCentreClinic, the psychology research unit that came up with a new online pain course as part of its role to develop and evaluate treatments for common health conditions.

“Leading specialist pain management clinics routinely review a patient’s physical health and medications - and will often also recommend a psychologically-based program,” Dear says.

“We have developed an online course that lets people who have chronic pain access that treatment free and without having to travel,” he says.

Helen* has chronic long-term pain – and she will probably live with it for the rest of her life. Like many people in her situation, Helen’s world shrank more and more as she avoided activities that might make the pain worse.

But the free eight-week online pain course, now available at MQ Health's MindSpot service, has helped Helen reclaim her life.

“I'm now increasing my social activities as well as taking up my hobbies again which is making me happier and helping me feel more 'normal' again,” she said.

Around 20 per cent of the population will have pain that has lasted longer than three months; and around six per cent will have a persistent pain that interferes with their day-to-day life and continues despite available medication and treatment.

Helen was one of 1600 people who participated in early research trials through the eCentreClinic. Around 400 of these patients were followed up for two years after doing the online course – and like Helen, most of them found significant life improvements as a result.

“We now know that psychological treatment is a really effective therapy for people with chronic pain,” Professor Dear says.

Feedback from MindSpot patients shows that the program’s useful information, pragmatic strategies and clinician support are helping users get their lives back on track.

“The activity schedule is great as it stops me from overdoing things which then only increases my pain which starts the pain cycle again,” Helen says. “I hadn't realised how much I had cut out of my life unnecessarily, things that made me happy which mostly didn't cause pain.”

Helen says that while she knows pain will be with her for her whole life, the course has shown her that pain doesn’t need to stop her from being active and doing things she enjoys.

“I've already started reclaiming my life,” she says. “I can't wait to lead a more fulfilled life where pain is a minor aspect of my life, not a major aspect.”

*Names and other personal details have been changed.