More than 3.85 million Australians experience pain caused by arthritis and many are not achieving adequate pain relief with their current medicine regimen. Research conducted by Arthritis NSW earlier this year revealed many people are over-using general analgesics to relieve break-through pain, which can result in further health complications.

To help people work with their doctors to determine the best pain management treatments for them, Arthritis NSW and the National Prescribing Service (NPS) have developed a pain management diary in which people can record detailed information about the type and nature of pain they are feeling.

“Many people can live well with their arthritis if they can manage their pain,” Arthritis NSW CEO Karen Filocamo said.

“Some people also experience break-through pain and try to manage it themselves with low dose analgesics and may not think to discuss this with their doctor.”

“The pain management diary is very detailed. It has space to record the person’s mood, sleep and physical activity as well as the steps taken to alleviate the pain and whether they worked. These things all need to be considered in discussion with a health professional when developing an effective pain management plan,” Mrs Filocamo said.

NPS CEO, Dr Lynn Weekes said the diary will help patient/ doctor communication and enable people to take a more active role in their own health management.

“Describing chronic pain can be very difficult,” Dr Weekes said.

“Having a written record helps health professionals understand the individual’s whole pain experience and enables the patient and doctor to develop the most appropriate treatment plan. The diary will empower people to take better control of their health and will lead to more effective use of pain relief medicines.”

“As part of our commitment to providing resources to culturally and linguistically diverse audiences a summarised version of the resource is also available in Chinese, as there a large number of Chinese Australians who are affected by arthritis,” Dr Weekes said.

For a copy of the diary go to www.arthritisnsw.org.au or www.nps.org.au/manageyourpain or call Arthritis NSW toll free on 1800 011 041.

ENDS

The National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation for quality use of medicines funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.