Looking back on my path to becoming a volunteer with Pain BC's Pain Support and Wellness Groups, I can best describe it as a series of seemingly random events. I first found out about Pain BC through an ad on the internet that my wife shared with me. That ad then led me to meet with Pain BC’s Support Services team. At the time, I had no idea that meeting would also serve as an interview to become a support group facilitator – an opportunity I am truly grateful for.

During COVID-19, Pain BC continues to operate at full capacity and is rapidly mobilizing to address the emerging needs of people with pain. Our work in education, support services, research and advocacy have and will continue to pivot to meet the unprecedented challenges of this time. We’re in this with you.

Since becoming a proud Pain Support Line volunteer in May 2019, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about pain physiology and pain management, meet intelligent Pain BC employees and volunteer alongside some of the kindest and most compassionate individuals I have ever met.

Despite having a limited income, Bev is a regular donor to Pain BC because she deeply values the organization’s work to improve the lives of people with pain.

“I am exhausted and hopeless.” This is just one of the many discouraging statements I hear regularly from clients who contact Pain BC’s Pain Support Line to seek advice, resources or even just a listening ear.

In spring of 2019, Health Canada established the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF) to recommend an improved approach to pain care, education, research and data monitoring in Canada.

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming and isolating, but please know that you're not alone. During this time, Pain BC is committed to continuing to do what we’ve always done: working towards a future where no one is alone with pain. 

Pain BC applauds the launch today of a national online public consultation on chronic pain by the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF). The consultation will inform the Task Force’s work, including a report to Health Canada in June 2020 that will outline elements of an improved approach to pain in Canada.

Dr. Judy Dercksen works as a general practitioner in Quesnel, BC. With a population of less than 30,000 people in the city and surrounding area, Quesnel doesn’t have many of the specialized health services available in big cities.

At the young of 29, Eileen Davidson was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic illness which is the leading cause of long-term disability in Canadians of working age.

The following blog post was written by Rebecca McDonald, B.Sc., M.O.T., who is the co-founder of the British Columbia Pain Collective, a community of health care professionals to advance the understanding of pain neuroscience, rehabilitation and recovery. 

This past spring, Health Canada established the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF) to identify and address the barriers that prevent people with persistent pain from receiving the care and treatment they need. The Task Force released its first report in June, which assesses the current state of chronic pain care, education and research in Canada and highlights the profound impact of chronic pain on Canadians.

Keith Meldrum is no stranger to living with chronic pain, which he developed after being involved in a car accident nearly 34 years ago. Although his injuries eventually healed following years of surgeries, his pain persisted without a clear cause. It was only in 2005, nearly 20 years following the accident, that he was diagnosed with neuropathic pain while receiving treatment from an interventional pain clinic.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the Pain Society of Alberta, HELP Alberta's Pain, and the Alberta Medical Association Section of Chronic Pain recently announced the Alberta Pain Strategy at the 13th Annual Alberta Pain Society Conference in Banff, Alberta.