Last month I mentioned one of my “strong professional yeses was a super cool adventure that combines a couple of my passions.” This is it: the Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour! This is a cycling tour in Australia that’s meant to spread advanced pain science knowledge and skills to rural communities. You may recall (and maybe have even donated to) my participation in another Pain Revolution initiative called Go The Distance in October 2022. In my blog titled Join the Pain Revolution!, I wrote of my desire to do the tour: “When I learned about the tours, I kept thinking about how cool it would be to combine the sport I love with my passion of helping others relieve chronic pain. What an experience it would be to ride the countryside while raising awareness about pain science and helping people recover.” And now I’m going to do it!
Rural Outreach Tour Details
The Rural Outreach Tour has three parts:
1. Cycling
-
- When: September 14-21, 2024 (8 days)
- Where: Australia: South East SA & Western Victoria
- Distance: ~450 miles / ~57 miles/day average
- Climbing: nearly 20,000′ total
The cycling is an essential community awareness component of the tour. Riding through the countryside brings attention to the Pain Revolution initiative in rural areas. When the group of riders (peloton) rolls en masse into small towns wearing bright polkadot lycra, people can’t help but notice. The arrival of the Pain Revolution peloton alerts the locals of our presence, raises curiosity, and encourages people to come out and take advantage of our educational offerings.
In this video (3:39) about the Rural Outreach Tour, Lorimer Moseley, Founder and CEO of the Pain Revolution, describes how preparing for the cycling tour is a metaphor for treating chronic pain. Both require the following:
- Training
- Good Coaching
- Persistence
- Patience
- Knowledge
- Team Support
2. Pain Science Education
Upon arriving in town, we (the tour riders and more) offer interactive educational events and demonstrations, which I will be involved in delivering. For a taste of the kind of information that will be presented, watch this video (21:10) from the 2017 Rural Outreach Tour. In the presentation, Professor Moseley reviews the 7 Amazing Pain Discoveries to Change Your Life.
With ongoing research, the information that’s presented continues to evolve. In October 2022, the ideas focused on the 9 Target Concepts that I outlined in my previous blog. And now, in June 2024, the main learning objectives are referred to as the 4 Essential Pain Facts. I encourage you to click on the word “more” for an informative presentation on each fact.
4 Essential Pain Facts
- Pain protects us and promotes healing. more
- Persistent pain overprotects us and prevents recovery. more
- Many factors influence pain. more
- There are many ways to reduce pain and promote recovery. more
Related Blogs
Your Brain Interprets Your Pain
Beat Your Pain Using the Biopsychosocial Model
How You Think Affects Your Pain
The Perfect Storm of Chronic Pain
Pain as My Teacher – I can’t shoulder it all
3. Fundraising
The Rural Outreach Tour raises funds for “the development of accessible, community-based pain education programs for people living with persistent pain.” My obligation is to raise $2000. 100% of all donations goes directly to the Pain Revolution Local Pain Educator initiative. None of it supports me personally or my participation in the tour.
Although the tour is in Australia and supports the people there, I see it as a stepping stone to growing awareness and opportunity for this important work in the US. It has already spread to the UK with their public health campaign, Flippin’ Pain®. Maybe the US will be next!
Donate Today!
Please visit my fundraising page and read why I am investing my time, energy, and money on this important cause. If you prefer to donate ‘offline’ let me know and we can work that out. I hope you will join me in supporting the advancement of pain science education that could lead to dramatic improvements in the quality of life for those who are suffering in Australia and expanding worldwide.
International Charitable Donations
The Pain Revolution is a non-profit University of South Australia initiative. If you wish to make a tax-deductible charitable donation and receive a receipt, please contact me. A separate process needs to be followed from the fundraising page above.
