An introduction to the online pain education seminar

Who is the leaflet for?

This leaflet is for patients attending Addenbrooke’s pain clinic.

What is the online pain education seminar?

The online pain education seminar is a videoed version of the current group education seminar which is held each Friday morning. This is a necessary and important part of your pain management.

The aim of our education seminar is to provide you with an understanding of chronic pain. Chronic pain is a long-term condition that requires daily self-management. It is very important for you to learn about self-management techniques that you can use and how they can be applied.

The following topics are covered in the pain education seminar:

• The difference between acute and chronic pain.
• A basic introduction on how the nervous system works.
• A pacing strategy for structuring your daily activities and inactivity.
• A basic introduction on how emotions and stress affect the body.
• An overview of the health benefits of relaxation, introduction to active techniques
  and a brief guided relaxation session.
• The involvement of muscles in response to pain and the benefits of using stretch
  and exercise on your health and posture.
• An introduction on understanding what a ‘pain flare’ is and how to manage one
• Understanding and managing sleep.

Why is the pain clinic using an online pain education seminar?

The pain clinic offers the online education seminar to ensure the topics covered in the group seminar are conveniently accessible to those patients who are unable to attend the group appointment. We hope it will reduce waiting times in clinic.

Please be aware that you have up to four weeks to complete the online seminar and on completion you will be sent a three month nurse follow up appointment (please do not hesitate in contacting the pain clinic if you do not receive a follow up appointment).

Non-compliance will result in a delay to any treatment for which you may be booked. If you have not completed this within four weeks, an appointment will be sent to you to attend the group education seminar. Failure to attend this appointment will result in being registered as ‘did not attend’, and we will be obliged to discharge you back to the care of your general practitioner as per Trust policy.

How does the online pain education seminar work?

You will need an email address to be able to join the online pain clinic education seminar (see the Cambridge Pain Education website (opens in a new tab)).

Upon registration you will receive an email with a website hyperlink. This link will take you to the home page. Please note that you will be required to use Google Chrome as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge do not support this app.

The email will look something like this:

Your temporary password is XXXXXX. Please use this to log in to the app. You will be prompted to set a new permanent password.

Your login will be your email address.

In summary

You will be asked to use your email address as your username and a randomly generated password will be given to you (this can be changed once logged in).

There will be a series of video presentations to watch each followed by a short set of questions relevant to the subject of the video. Please ensure that you complete each section prior to moving onto the next section. The videos can only be accessed in sequence however; the seminar can be completed at your own pace.

As with the group education, orders for injections will only be released upon completion of the online seminar. Therefore, the online seminar should be completed in a timely manner as this is an important part of your treatment pathway.

Once you have completed the online seminar an appointment will be sent to you via post or MyChart, for a nurse appointment in three months, to review and support your progress with self-management. At your nurse appointment, the nurse will discuss which of the strategies you have adopted into your daily activities and which ones you have struggled with. This will give you the opportunity to ask further questions or express any concerns that you might have regarding the strategies. Furthermore, it would be of benefit to you to prepare for this appointment beforehand.

If you have any difficulty with accessing the online seminar, please look at FAQ’s on the Contact page of the app in the first instance. Please ensure you are using Chrome.

If further technical support is required, please email Cambridge Digital Health or alternatively you can call 01223 967369.

Contacts/further information

Pain clinic hours - 08:00 to 16:00

Telephone number: Call 01223 217796 (for clinical queries)

Pain clinic
Box 215
Addenbrooke’s Hospital
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 0QQ