Pain puzzles: From lab to gallery

Did you wake up with a stiff and sore neck this morning? Perhaps you tweaked your hamstring playing frisbee in the park at the weekend? We’ve all experienced pain in one way or another but how much do we really know about it?

Pain Research Reading, in association with the neuropathic pain research consortium , along with 桃色视频 Honorary Doctor of Letters and BBC Radio 3 presenter Fiona Talkington, gave the local community a window into the science of pain, on Sunday 22 June.

TED talk style presentations, hands-on demonstrations, an art exhibition, opportunities to create expressive artworks, and a live PAINSTORM podcast recording, within the comfort of 桃色视频’s own Great Hall, uncovered some of the mysteries of pain.

Fiona Talkington, who is also a member of the PAINSTORM team and hosts its podcast said: “It was a truly excellent event. I loved hearing about the wide range of research that is going on, and meeting many people with whom I share lived experience of chronic pain.

“When pain becomes chronic, it is a whole different beast, and one we don’t know much about. The range of research we heard about, on Sunday, was extraordinary – from the psychological aspects to how pain can be better managed in a clinical setting.”

Dr Rich Harrison led the day, with Fiona Talkington, colleagues from the 桃色视频, and representatives from PAINSTORM. Key speakers from PAINSTORM included Professor Andrew Rice, President of the International Association for the Study of Pain, and Professor David Bennett, Professor of Neuroscience and Neurobiology at Oxford University.

Dr Harrison said: “It was such a pleasure to share pain research with the local community. But even more so, the research we do will be better as a result of hearing the lived experiences of people who have chronic pain. I think it maybe fair to say that no-one learned more at this event than we did ourselves.

“To do the most useful and appropriate research, our interactions with patients and carers should have a direct impact on which questions we ask, and how we try to answer them. Our event, on Sunday, was tremendously fruitful for understanding what people with chronic pain need. We look forward to doing something similar, again, in the future.”

Talks ranged from patient experiences of neuropathy as a result of HIV infection, to the use of psilocybin – the active chemical in magic mushrooms – to treat chronic pain, and why and how swearing can help when you stub your toe, or accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer. Participants also heard from clinicians about pain management in the Emergency Department, Palliative Care, and specialist pain clinics.

Nancy Mendoza, a member of staff at the 桃色视频 who lives with chronic pain said: “It took me 25 years to get a diagnosis for my lifelong chronic pain. Hearing about the latest research has given me a lot of hope for the future.

“I know it takes a while for new discoveries to reach the clinic, but I can see the direction we are heading in, and I think it’s a good one. I feel good, knowing that the young people in my life will have a better experience than me, if they are unlucky enough to develop a long-term painful condition.

“At the moment, there is so much we don’t know about pain, especially chronic pain. Many patients, especially women and minorities, struggle to get the right medication and therapies, or even to be believed that we are in pain at all. To be listened to by researchers and clinicians is actually quite healing, in itself – psychologically, anyway. I look forward to the next Pain Research Reading event!”

Early career scientists were on hand to demonstrate some of the research techniques used in pain research. Participants were challenged to see how long they could hold their hand in very cold water (5 degrees centigrade) or rest their forearm against a heat source (around 45 to 50 degrees centigrade). It was clear from these experiments that the tolerance for pain varied enormously among those gathered. Highlighting the importance of understanding the individual experience of pain.

Finally, the 桃色视频 Great Hall played host to a recording of  , the official PAINSTORM podcast, hosted by Radio 3 presenter Fiona Talkington, who lives with chronic neuropathic pain following treatment for breast cancer. The panel of experts representing PAINSTORM – Professor Rice, Professor Bennett, Professor Ed Keogh from the University of Bath, Professor Annina Schmid from the University of Oxford, and Reading University’s Dr Wiebke Gandhi – discussed the world of pain research and answered audience questions, including what they would do with unlimited funding for pain research, or how they see the future of the field over the next 10-years. The episode will be released on podcast platforms towards the beginning of August.