The Australian Pain Society DECEMBER 2014 NEWSLETTER Volume 34, Issue 10 BLOG Editor’s Note Contents This edition has a range of articles, from a 1 Editor’s Note 12 Home Medicine Reviews: Recent report by the president to a report on the changes and potential implications 2 Presidents Report IASP World Congress: so there is plenty for 14 IASP 15th World Congress on Pain your attention. 3 Simple accident leads to life of pain Report Thank you to all contributors and to Tra- 4 ASM 2015 registration open 15 Albury Wodonga Health Tackling Opioid cy at DC Conferences for her work in the 5 Paralympian launches new pain book Misuse newsletter. 6 In recognition of Jenny Phillips 16 PhD Student Travel Grants Wishing all our members a happy and re- 7 Olly Zekry wins PSA QUM in Pain 22 FYI & New members Management Award freshing summer break. 23 Membership renewal & Calendar Regards, 9 Sclerotomes and somatic referred of events (pain and other neurophysiological) 24 Calendar of events Will Howard symptoms Editor 10 Current & Past Scholars APS NEWSLETTER I DECEMBER 2014 1 PRESIDENTS REPORT By Dr Malcolm Hogg munity in pain management worked col- ety’s executive is hopeful the project will lectively to establish the discipline, with generate impetus to deal with the chal- steady growth thereafter securing the lenges ahead - challenges we should em- Society’s future. We are now considering brace. Thank you for your support and our role in the health care evolution, with ongoing membership of the Society, and an emphasis on member education, sup- best wishes for the new year ahead. porting the development of new models of service delivery, and research agendas. The society seeks engagement in the pro- cesses of reviewing the Australian Health Service standards, introduction of feder- al-state activity based funding, and work- force development programs in various states. With our support of painaustralia, the society believes it has established a structure to effectively lobby for appropri- ate change, in order to further strengthen Whilst the year draws to a close, prepara- health care system now and in the future.. tion for the coming year’s activities contin- ue. The timetable for our 35th ASM in Bris- - bane (15-18th March) is almost set, with creasingly aware of these changes, de- posters and free papers selected (thanks veloping position statements and pain to all those who submitted), and interna- special interest groups for their members. tional speakers engaged (Prof Herta Flor, It is imperative that the Society, and its Dr Mary Lynch, Dr Frank Porecca, Dr Tim members, take opportunities to promote - vited Australian speakers. Registration is now open, with the program available for models for our patients. Opportunities for review on our website (https://www.dccon- - ferences.com.au/aps2015/program_over- vances in the neuro- and social-sciences view). if service teams and their administrators remain committed and enthused to sup- - port change implementation. ing, the executive commissioned a histori- cal review which is underway and planned Our history project should celebrate our for release in Brisbane. The small com- Society’s achievements, and the Soci- History of the Australian Pain Society WE ARE DESPERATELY SEEKING PAST CONFERENCE ABSTRACT HANDBOOKS AND ANY PHOTOGRAPHS OR IMAGES OF PAST APS ACTIVITIES. We would welcome any contributions you could make to this project, please contact the Australian Pain Society Secretariat on (02) 9016 4343 or via email [email protected]. As required, all originals will be returned. APS NEWSLETTER I DECEMBER 2014 2 SIMPLE ACCIDENT LEADS TO LIFE OF PAIN - rived at after four and a half years, was the Ms Mantalvanos agrees. She is also the her pain. Today, two and a half years af- which documents the effect chronic pain live with it”. ter the diagnosis, Ms Mantalvanos’s pain has had on her life (see www.pudendal- is better managed and she uses an elec- Soula Mantalvanos was working in her tronic implant, which distracts signals of graphic design studio seven years ago pain to her brain. She has also become of chronic pain in the community. She is - a strong advocate for better recognition, also working with pain professionals in WA ance ball or exercise ball) she was sitting treatment and management of chronic to produce a pain management program. on in place of a chair unexpectedly burst pain. beneath her. Ms Mantalvanos fell from a “It is still a primitive time in pain. Being told for four and a half years ‘this is chronic her sacropelvic region bearing the full New Zealand suffer from chronic pain, yet pain ... go home and live with it, there’s force of the blunt fall. the condition remains little understood. nothing that can be done’ is brutal not to mention primitive.” Her husband Theo ran to her side. Af- This message was the theme of the ter the shock settled, she crawled to the ANZCA Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine Ebru Yaman carpeted area and her response was to Foundation’s “1 in 5” television campaign ANZCA Media Manger laugh. The pair “had a good old laugh ac- launched in July to spread awareness of Clockwise from left: Soula Mantalvanos in her studio; tually – it was such a silly accident,” she chronic pain. The commercial can be seen a still from the television campaign; self-portrait: remembers. at www.anzca.edu.au/fellows/ foundation. Finalist in The Doug Moran Portrait Painting Prize That unexpected and seemingly innocu- Ms Mantalvanos is one of the chronic pain 2014. ous accident would determine the course patients who volunteered their services to of the rest of her life. Ms Mantalvanos ex- appear in the commercial, which encour- pected to feel sore but better after a cou- ages the public to donate to research into ple of days. But the pain continued, inten- chronic pain. The Dean of ANZCA’s Faculty of Pain days, her nights, her relationships and her Medicine, Professor Ted Shipton, said ability to work. chronic pain had many causes and was - a complex and debilitating condition that swers, of tests and interventions, frus- desperately needed more research. tration, grief, and constant, unbearable - pain to reach a diagnosis. The fall caused ments and develop better understanding nerve damage in the pelvic area, very of the mechanisms at work in this condi- real but invisible on MRIs, examinations, tion – and for that we need more dedicat- X-rays and CT scans. ed research.” The diagnosis of pudendal neuralgia, ar- APS NEWSLETTER I DECEMBER 2014 3 ASM 2015 REGISTRATION OPEN REGISTRATIONS OPEN 2015 Australian Pain Society 35th Annual Scientific Meeting Managing Pain: from Mechanism to Policy 15 - 18 MARCH 2015 | BRISBANE CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE, QLD Expressions of Interest online at www.dcconferences.com.au/aps2015 For Sponsorship and Exhibition opportunities or more information please contact the APS Secretariat DC Conferences Pty Ltd | P 61 2 9954 4400 | E [email protected] Registration for APS 2015 is now open. Early Bird Deadline is Friday 23 January 2015 Registration Fees and Information To register, please click on the following link: Register Online Now Conference program Conference website The program this year will focus on key topics including: brain pain, Program overview immune stressors, acute pain, chronic pain, opioids, neuromodulation, emerging interventional techniques, paediatrics, physiotherapy, Keynote speakers psychology and much, much more. Looking for more information? Click on one of the following links: Pre-Conference Workshops We look forward to welcoming you to Brisbane.Should you have any queries, please contact the Conference Secretariat. APS NEWSLETTER I DECEMBER 2014 PARALYMPIAN LAUNCHES NEW PAIN BOOK L to R: Rebecca McCabe, Kathryn Nicholson Perry (back), Liesl Tesch AM, Robin Murray (back), Lyndall Katte and Phillip Siddall a particular focus on pain following spinal cord injury. They include chapters on med- Liesl Tesch AM, six time Paralympian ications and other treatments, stretching, and gold medallist launched The Spinal exercise, diet, distraction, relaxation, Cord Injury Pain Book at an event that was part of both the Global Year against Neuropathic Pain and Spinal Awareness people living with someone with pain. The book also has many quotes from people the more than two thirds of people with a with spinal cord injuries who tell their own spinal cord injury who experience pain of personal stories of living with pain and some sort. Neuropathic pain is also a ma- what has helped them. jor problem and occurs in around one half of all people with a spinal cord injury. The book forms part of a larger bunch of Liesl Tesch AM resources for people with pain following spinal cord injuries launched in October. The book has been written by The Pain The resources are available through the Book authors, Philip Siddall, Rebecca NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation web- McCabe and Robin Murray at Greenwich site: Hospital in Sydney with two additional au- thors who bring a huge amount of experi- www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/chronic-pain/ ence in treating people with pain following spinal-cord-injury-pain. spinal cord injury, clinical psychologist A/ The book can be purchased on-line or Prof Kathryn Nicholson Perry and physio- directly from the publisher at www.ham- therapist Lyndall Katte. mond.com.au/shop. book contains information on pain mech- anisms, the impact of pain and the various treatments available but with additional spinal cord injury. The second part of the book has been largely rewritten to provide APS NEWSLETTER I DECEMBER 2014 5 IN RECOGNITION OF JENNY PHILLIPS In recognition of the achievements of Jenny Phillips. The retirement of a pain management champion. In 2000 when Jenny joined the Acute Pain closely in the RDH Department of Anaes- Service as the Clinical Nurse Consultant thesia.