General News
5 September, 2024
Reverend James Wood embarks on 750km ride for chronic pain awareness
Reverend James Wood joins Pain Revolution's 750km ride.
This September, Warracknabeal's Anglican priest and passionate cyclist, Reverend James Wood, will embark on a unique journey as part of the Pain Revolution Outreach Tour 2024.
Kicking off in Mount Gambier on September 14 and concluding in Horsham on the 21st, the week-long cycling challenge will cover about 750km and blend physical endurance with a powerful cause: raising awareness and educating rural communities about chronic pain.
The Pain Revolution, founded by Professor Lorimer Moseley AO, aims to ensure all Australians have access to the knowledge, skills, and local support necessary to prevent and overcome persistent pain.
"There is no doubt that chronic pain is crippling rural and regional Australia," Prof Moseley said.
However, our understanding of chronic pain and how to treat it has been transformed over the last 25 years. High quality tailored education and graded activity is the best treatment for chronic pain."
An initiative of the University of South Australia, Pain Revolution seeks to help Australians connect to services, health professionals and community initiatives that assist those challenged by chronic pain, not only to manage their pain but also to move towards recovery.
Rev James said he was excited about the opportunity to be involved.
"In so many of my interactions with people across our region, there are a variety of factors that contribute to people's pain," he said.
"It is either something that people feel embarrassed talking about or in some cases people cannot stop talking about.
"I am very keen to educate myself in how I can make a contribution towards recovery for sufferers of chronic pain and offer my own skills and personal experience through my unique role within the community."
As a cycling enthusiast, the reverend looked forward to the challenge of the ride.
"There is no doubt that riding approximately 750kms during the week will challenge my own pain threshold physically," he said.
"As the old adage goes, 'A pain shared is a pain halved' - and this will certainly ring true with the other 20 participants on the ride, who will travel from around Australia and several from around the world."
Part of the challenge also includes fundraising for the Local Pain Educator Program.
This long-term capacity-building initiative equips health professionals with advanced understanding and skills in pain science, education and care and then supports them in establishing a Local Pain Collective.
This collective is designed to embed knowledge and skills about best practice pain care in rural communities.
A series of free community events throughout the Outreach Tour will help explain the 'Science of Why We Hurt?'.
These events are designed for anyone interested in learning more about their pain or those they care for.
They will be engaging and educational, casting a vision for how local people and healthcare professionals can positively impact pain outcomes in their community.
There will also be two unique one-day workshops for healthcare professionals during the tour, with Mount Gambier Painfest on September 14 and the Horsham Pain Skillsfest on September 21. For more information, visit www.painrevolution.org/tour.