View featured activities and resources about pain awareness and Pain Awareness Month.
2023 - Interview with Endiya Sykes, Neshana Harper ans Soumitri Sil, PhD
September is Pain Awareness Month and Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month. We had the opportunity to speak with Endiya Sykes, Neshana Harper, and Soumitri Sil, PhD about their experiences related to sickle cell disease and chronic pain.
2023 - Whole person Health Infographic(pdf, 187 KB)
Whole person pain care means helping people and communities improve and restore their health across biological, psychological, behavioral, social, and environmental domains, rather than just treating a pain condition.
2023 Directors Message
September is Pain Awareness Month: We Are All in This Together
Each September, Pain Awareness month gives us an opportunity to reflect on the needs of the millions of people with chronic pain, as well as the research that we hope will better prevent and treat it.
The pain research community is more aligned than ever, but we still have a long way to go. NINDS and the other Institutes, Centers, and Offices across NIH are committed to listening to patients, communities, and scientists – towards ensuring that we support research that will improve our understanding of and deliver effective new treatments for pain.
2023 - Progress on Pain – SHIP-HU Study
September is Pain Awareness Month and Sickle Cell Disease Awareness (SCD) Month. The SHIP-HU Study is an NHLBI-funded research study on SCD that recently published findings about the transition from pediatric to adult SCD care. Learn more by watching the linked video.
Chronic Pain & Stigma Infographic(pdf, 166 KB)
Stigma is negative beliefs and attitudes about others based on defining characteristics (e.g., health conditions). Stigma is a common experience of people experiencing chronic pain.
2022 Director's Message
Check out the latest Director’s Message from Dr. Walter Koroshetz, where he reflects on complexity and progress in pain research.
Every day in September and throughout the year, we in the NIH pain research community are striving to develop more effective treatments for the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain and other pain conditions. With strengthened attention to the multitude of factors that influence how individuals experience pain and through engagement with the pain community, we are hopeful for the progress we can achieve.
2022 - Interview with Penney Cowan, Founder of the American Chronic Pain Association and Pain Awareness Month
Pain Awareness month was created in 2001 by the American Chronic Pain Association to draw attention to the issues that people with pain face, such as access to care and stigma.
Read an interview with American Chronic Pain Association Founder, Penney Cowan.
2021 - Fact Sheet: Stakeholder Engagement and Diversity and Inclusion in Your Pain Research(pdf, 471 KB)
Stakeholder engagement is a process of proactively communicating with all those who have an interest in research to consider and incorporate their needs, concerns and perspectives. Stakeholders should be considered as equal partners, in all aspects of research. Read our new Fact Sheet to learn more.
2021 NIH Pain Consortium Symposium Patient's Perspective by Lt. Aaron Banas
Lt. Aaron Banas was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March of 2020. He developed long-term symptoms including pain. He shared his experienced at the 2021 NIH Pain Consortium Symposium.
Migraine Awareness Infographic(pdf, 388 KB)
Migraine is more than a headache. Learn about migraine research with our new infographic.
2021 Director's Message
Check out the latest Director’s Message from Dr. Walter Koroshetz, where he reflects on the experience of pain beyond its physical sensation.
As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has sharply increased our awareness of inequalities and inequities in health across the US, the NIH pain research community is striving to develop more effective treatments for chronic pain that can reduce the suffering of millions of people from all walks of life.
Tweets from @NIHPainRearch (over 12,000 followers)
Follow us throughout the month of September for updates from the NIH Pain Research Community.
#PainMonth2021
December 18, 2020
2021 - Interview with Chronic Pain Patient Konnie Snyder
Chronic pain, an unpleasant signal indicating that something hurts, affects millions of Americans every year. It is a complex experience and differs greatly from individual to individual, even between those with similar injuries and/or illnesses. There are some who live with chronic pain for years without knowing what’s causing it or having any way to treat it. This is what Konnie Snyder has experienced every day for the past six and a half years.
September 30, 2020
2020 - Interview with Migraine Patient Athena Knight
Imagine having headaches so painful that they affect your life so profoundly you cannot make it through the day. All you can do is seek out a dark, quiet room and wait, hoping the pain will eventually subside. Athena Knight is one of the roughly 12 percent of the United States population living with migraines, and hers have become increasingly painful over the course of more than 20 years. She was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about her personal experiences with migraine and other chronic pain conditions and to offer advice for others who live with migraine pain.
September 01, 2020
2020 - Fully Engaged: The Importance of Involving Patients in Research
The Helping to End Addiction Long-term InitiativeSM, or NIH HEAL InitiativeSM is dedicated to patient engagement that can help bridge the gap between a treatment’s efficacy and effectiveness.
2019- WEBINAR SERIES: Sickle Cell Science: Path to Progress
September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.
WEBINAR SERIES: Sickle Cell Science: Path to Progress
2019 - Q & A with Dr. Robert Kerns
Read an interview with Dr. Robert Kerns, a current member of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee.
2019 - Cancer Physician Data Query
Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine.
2019- NINDS Directors message
Read Dr. Koroshetz's message concerning Pain Awareness month 2019 , federally-supported pain research and the NIH HEAL Initiative.