About 1 in 5 people suffer from chronic pain and over 30,000 residents in the Kootenay Boundary region. With only one chronic pain clinic serving the entire region and little-to-no funding available to cover effective treatment or prevention, those living with chronic pain have few options. The nonprofit group RISE Above Pain Society (RAP) was created to address care needs and remove barriers associated with chronic pain.
Working with Dr. Joel Kailia and his practitioners at RISE BC Wellness Centre located in Nelson, RAP has created a unique and effective Integrative Chronic Pain Self-Management (ICPSM) Program, mirrored on the successful approach that Dr. Kailia applies in his clinic: A team-based, multi-modality approach, incorporating evidence-based treatments and interventions to understand and address chronic pain.
The goal of RAP’s ICPSM program is to help residents become drivers and self-managers of their own health by providing participants with the tools, resources, and support they need. The program will be delivered in communities across the region, with Nelson as the pilot site, and will include:
- Integrative Chronic Pain Self-Management (ICPSM) Workshops: 8-week, 2-hour/ week modules on: Foundations of pain; Integration of Yoga, Movement Therapy, and Trigger Point Therapy; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Somatic Relational Therapy; Goal-setting; and Creating a Self-Management Health Plan.
- Assistance from a Patient Navigator (PN): Workshop facilitator and navigator offering support, encouragement, help with creating a Self-Management Health Plan, and direction through the health care system.
- Movement and support classes: Weekly physical movement, education, and relaxation classes.
- Ongoing chronic pain research and development: Integrative and functional medicine.
- Template and deliver programs: Working with communities across region to train local PN’s and practitioners to deliver workshops and movement/support classes.
Pilot Program:
The pilot Integrative Chronic Pain Self-Management workshop will be offered on Wednesday evenings, 6:00 – 8:00pm in Nelson at the Community First Health Co-op, 518 Lake St., #205 Horizon Room, starting on Wednesday, March 1 and running until Wednesday, April 19.
The workshop will be facilitated by Dr. Kailia, MD; Jacqueline Carr, PN; with module-specific facilitation by Camela Cowan, Certified Yoga Therapist; Anna Topf, Kinesiologist; Tara Emery, Chronic Pain Counsellor (CBT, Somatic Relational Therapy); and Trevor Sawchuk, Pharmacist.
