Former armed forces personnel across County Durham are being urged to come forward for support, if they are living with chronic pain.
A free-to-access course developed by Help for Heroes in conjunction with veterans, is available to help people to take back control of their lives as a crucial first step towards reducing the devastating impact of chronic pain.
County Durham has a population of 22,615 veterans and the charity believes more people living with chronic pain could be helped.
Janine Whitley, a Veterans Clinical Advisor at Help for Heroes and a former Royal Navy nurse who served four tours in Afghanistan during her 25-year military career said: “Since the course launched the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. However, we think we can help more people, especially in County Durham, which has one of the largest veteran populations in the UK.
“Through the course, we educate people to manage chronic pain better. It’s about empowering yourself by increasing your knowledge and in some cases a reset from the military mindset of just ‘pushing through’.”
Chronic pain is described as a hidden disability; it derails careers, wrecks relationships and destroys mental health.
On average, five military personnel are medically discharged from the UK Armed Forces every day, mainly as a result of musculoskeletal injuries, which evidence shows increases the risk of chronic pain.
Help for Heroes describes chronic pain as a “hidden enemy”, affecting three out of four veterans they support.
Janine added: “Veterans are eligible for the chronic pain course, no matter when or where they served and irrespective of whether their illness or injury was caused in service.
“There’s information on our website about how to apply for the course, along with some free-to-use self-help guides.
“We know that veterans can sometimes feel they don’t deserve help – but at Help for Heroes we’re here to ensure that everyone who has served their country receives the support they need”.
The charity is currently supporting 336 people across County Durham.
For more information about the course, click here.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
