Communication is fundamental to the relationship between patient and healthcare professional. In this programme Airing Pain looks at this issue from both the patient and doctor’s point of view. Psychologist David Craig of Glasgow comments on his communication skills training DVD for chronic pain professionals. GP Mark Ritchie explains how depression and chronic pain can be linked, and gives advice on how patients can prepare for medical consultations, using the memory aid: Ideas, Concerns, and Expectations. And finally, we hear from a number of patients about how they effectively broke down any communications barriers with health professionals in order to gain the most that they could from their consultations.

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Paul Evans meets Edith Mowatt who has nerve root pain and hears how she has learned to manage her condition and about her experience of spinal cord stimulation. We hear a doctor’s view on these machines from Dr Steve Gilbert, and how they can also be used to treat complex regional pain syndrome. Dr Candy McCabe tells us more about this condition, as well as the use of mirrors in therapy for phantom limb pains.

Finally, Professor Mark Blagrove and Dr Nicole Tang explain how pain affects sleep, and how a good night’s rest with the help of cognitive behavioural therapy can ease pain symptoms.

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How do culture and religion affect the way we experience and manage our pain? Dr Shilpa Patel, Dr Sue Peacock and Sir Michael Bond talk about the relationship between cultural background and pain.

Also in the programme: Dr Steve Gilbert answers questions from people experiencing back pain; Phil Sizer of Pain Association Scotland provides advice on pain management programmes; and we learn about the epidemiology of pain and hear from Generation Scotland about how their study of pain in the Scottish population can help with the identification of risk factors.

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Paul Evans looks at the often uncomfortable subject of pelvic pain and how both women and men can get help. Dr William Notcutt, expert on medicinal cannabis use, talks about the potential for pain relief, side-effects and future possibilities of the controversial drug.

Nicky Jones tells her story of living with trigeminal neuralgia, with Jillie Abbot and Prof Joanna Zakrzewska providing more information.

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Paul Evans gets a knitting lesson when he visits the Stitchlinks group in Bath, where people use craft activities to manage their pain. Betsan Corkhill and Dr Mike Osborn talk about the medical science behind it, while the knitting group talk about their own experiences. We also meet Dr Laura Mitchell who subjects volunteers to pain tolerance testing to see how music can help relieve feelings of pain.

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Paul Evans visits the Centre for Pain Services at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases at Bath to find out about the pain management programme there. Clinical Director Dr Lance McCracken explains how the programme helps people get on with their lives and we meet the patient group to learn about their experiences in living with pain, what brought them to Bath and the things they’ve learned during their time on the programme. We also hear about how the team at Bath provide specific services to younger people and how pain affects their families and sleeping habits.

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We take a look at the role of the pain specialist nurse in the community, eavesdropping on two consultations given by Kathryn Nur at her nurse-led clinic at Tenby Cottage Hospital, Pembrokeshire. We hear how Kath helps her patients, learning about what TENS machines are, how to use them and how they can help those in pain, how acupuncture can also help, and the importance of listening to what the patient has to say.

On the contentious issue of how little training medical students receive on pain matters – fewer hours than vets – Ann Taylor from the faculty of pain medicine at Cardiff University talks about a web service that may go some way towards redressing the imbalance.

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In the wake of the government’s introduction of the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which will see all people already on incapacity benefits reassessed for their ability to work by 2014, Airing Pain discusses benefit reforms as well as how work affects those living in pain and how they can stay in, or get back into, work.

Chris Main, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Keele University, and Elaine Heaver of the Bath Centre for Pain Research take us through the evidence showing the health benefits from being in work and explain how GPs now give ‘fit notes’ as well as sick notes. Paul Watson gives some advice on how to stay in work and talk to your employer and Dr Shilpa Patel talks about the barriers faced by unemployed people with chronic pain.

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Airing Pain visits the Frenchay Hospital Pain Clinic in Bristol where we hear from staff and patients. Paul Evan sits in on a consultation with physiotherapist Pete Gladwell and hears the advice given to one patient about how to increase her mobility and exercise without causing flare up. We learn about how to talk to your health professional and the different ways of assessing pain. Also covered is how well funded Pain Care is by the health services, and the patients at Frenchay tell us their stories of living with and managing pain.

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Pacing is the thing that makes the most difference to his patients’ lives, says David Laird, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Management in County Durham. We hear about how pacing allows people to build up slowly to doing more, and Pete Moore describes getting his life back on track and becoming a patient expert on pain management.

Also in the programme: Dr David Walsh provides information about the different forms of arthritis and the treatments available and Dr Paul Johnson and Nia Taylor set out some of the opportunities and challenges facing pain services over the next few years. In our Q&A session, specialist nurse Ruth Day answers your questions on painkillers.

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