Academic Family Health Team

This Chronic Pain Self-Management Program is a six-week workshop that helps people with chronic pain to better manage their symptoms and their daily lives. The workshop provides information and teaches practical skills. It gives people the confidence and motivation they need to manage the challenges of living with chronic pain. The Chronic Pain Self-Management Program is a licensed program developed and researched by Memorial University in conjunction with Stanford University. It follows a standardized format that is proven to help people learn to better manage the symptoms of chronic pain. Participants receive for free the Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions course book, the Chronic Pain Workbook, and the Moving Easy Program CD.

In the workshop, you will learn how to:

• use techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, isolation and poor sleep;
• exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility and endurance;
• use of medications;
• communication skills;
• healthy eating;
• pacing activity and rest;
• goal setting; and
• how to evaluate new treatments

Participants take an active role in the workshop. They set individual goals each week and work to accomplish their goals throughout the following week. Participants are asked to share their goals and progress with the group.

Open to patients of Sunnybrook Academic Family Health team who are experiencing:

• Chronic musculoskeletal pain (such as chronic neck, shoulder, back pain, etc.)
• Whiplash injuries
• Chronic regional pain syndromes
• Repetitive strain injury
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Post-surgical pain that lasts beyond 6 months
• Neuropathic pain (often caused by trauma)
• Neuralgias (such as post herpetic pain, and trigeminal neuralgia)
• Post-stroke or central pain
• Persistent headache
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Diabetes and who have neuropathy
• Severe muscular pain due to conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis
• as well as their family, friends and/or caregivers.

Dates: Tuesday July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and August 6, 2024 (total of 6 sessions)
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (each session)
Location: Zoom – Online
Who Can Attend: SAFHT patients ONLY – LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE
To register: Tom Nguyen at tom.nguyen@sunnybrook.ca