What Do You Really Know about Pain & Fibromyalgia?

Think you know fibromyalgia and pain? Check your knowledge against our quick quiz of important facts about chronic pain prevalence, management and symptoms.

Quiz questions

Question 1. One in twenty people live with fibromyalgia in Australia. True or false?

Question 2. Based on 2018 data, the direct healthcare costs associated with chronic pain in Australia was $12 billion. True or false?

Question 3. Chronic pain is explained by tissue damage somewhere in the body. True or false?

Question 4. The average wait time to get into a pain management clinic in Australia is greater than 6 months. True or false?

Question 5. Fibromyalgia symptoms include widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. True or false?

Question 6. When you put your hands out in front of you and clasp them, which thumb is on top? Left or right?

Answers

Answer 1. True!

Look around, there is likely to be someone around you that has fibromyalgia…many might not even know it. Fibromyalgia is often misdiagnosed or can take a long time to be diagnosed.

It goes without saying that everyone’s fibromyalgia is different: different locations and fluctuations in pain, and differences in symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, anxiety and depression. One thing we do know – the pain is very real and the symptoms can be debilitating. Gone are the days when this condition was lumped in the “too-hard basket”. We now know much more about the complexities of an over-active pain system and there are many things people can do to help bring more balance, ease and choice.

That’s why MoreGoodDays® is providing an easy to use, evidence-based program of support for people living with fibromyalgia, so they can get their lives back.

Answer 2. True!

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study into chronic pain found that the overall cost was $140 billion comprising, (you guessed it) $12 billion on direct healthcare provision but the big part of this is from lost production and reduced quality of life for those people living with pain¹.

Not only does the management of pain come with huge costs but less than 10% of people who need it have access to gold standard care because it costs a fortune (twice the monthly paycheck), or they would have to wait it out for years on public wait lists.

So how can we get greater access to appropriate pain management and reduce the impact on our health system? So glad you asked…MoreGoodDays® provides a specialized treatment program for people living with fibromyalgia. While our program today is only for fibromyalgia, our goal is to expand to other types of chronic pain. Watch this space!

Answer 3. False!

Wait what!? Really? Pain is a sign that the body wants to protect you from danger, but what we now understand about chronic pain (pain that has persisted beyond the typical 3 months it takes for healing to occur) is that the pain system has shifted out of balance from a helpful process to something over-protective and not related to tissue damage.

For people living with pain, one of the best approaches to help them better manage is to provide a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating education on their pain system, evidence-based tools for promoting safety, reengaging in movement and addressing some of the contributing factors to their stress and pain experience – this is considered the gold standard of care. Evidence suggests that when people better understand their condition it can result in less worry, help them know how best to approach it, provides confidence and tools to take control, and ultimately leads to better recovery².

MoreGoodDays® is an evidence-based program and in just 12 weeks our participants have the opportunity to learn how to better manage their pain and receive personalized guidance from clinicians and coaches who deeply understand fibromyalgia. And, all from the comfort of their home via our interactive app.

‍Answer 4. True (but it’s pretty variable)!

While there have been improvements in the wait times to receive multidisciplinary pain management programs in the past few decades (comparing the Waiting in Pain research from 2012 and 2021)^3,4, there is a large variation in the wait times with some clinics reporting up to 3 years before a patient can access the program. Imagine being told there is something that can help you but that you must wait months to get access to that help.

The MoreGoodDays® program can help! Every client receives a medical review and personalized treatment plan from one of our doctors before they start the program.

There are 3 parts of our program:

• specialized chronic pain education delivered through a mobile app
• a Support Coach, who lives with fibromyalgia and are successfully managing their condition through evidence based approaches, guiding you through the journey
• allied health clinicians for deeper support as you need it, including psychologists, physiotherapists, dieticians.

Answer 5. True!

While everyone's experience living with pain is different, there are some common impacts to your physical, psychological and social well-being.

Physical symptoms can include and are not limited to joint pain, muscle aches and/or stiffness, reduced mobility, flexibility, functioning, social withdrawal, fatigue and/or brain fog, sleep problems, decreased mental wellbeing such as depression, anxiety, low mood. But the true impact comes from how these symptoms affect a person's daily life and may include disruptions to their ability to work, to travel, to participate in school or social activities, and difficulty with necessary tasks such as household chores, lifting, or exercising. There are also flow-on effects that can include relationship strain, stress, financial difficulty, medication side-effects and sleep problems.

The biopsychosocial model of pain was developed to incorporate all of these impacts and to acknowledge that pain is complex and needs to be individualized for effective management.

MoreGoodDays® is based on science and the 'biopsychosocial’ approach – realizing that support needs to be provided to the whole person, their symptoms, their lifestyle and individualized for them.

Answer 6. Well, you were either right...or left! Right?

This was just for fun. What we really wanted to show you is that every person is different. We are all a complex mixture of our backgrounds, our experiences and this is what makes us who we are.

Here at MoreGoodDays®, we understand this. No cookie cutter approach here. We spend the time getting to know people living with fibromyalgia and provide specialized, individualized care.