Chronic pain is one of the largest global health burdens causing great suffering across the world. Common examples include back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, headache and migraine. However, there many other conditions that can be painful, such as cancer and diabetes. Put simply, pain is frequently the reason why people seek help.

Pain can impact upon an individual's life in many ways. It affects the way they move, the way they think and feel, narrowing their choices and limiting meaningful activities. This is usually underpinned by fear of the pain and what it means. Understanding pain is the key first step in changing pain.

The misunderstanding of pain is one of the main reasons why pain is such an issue. Pain can be considered as a public health issue and addressed as such. When people understand their pain and know what to think and do, they can take the right steps to move onward and overcome their problems.

UP | understand pain is an awareness campaign that aims to deliver the latest information about pain to people across the globe. We will do this by developing the website into a resource for people suffering pain and for clinicians, by holding educational meetings and seminars and through our singing events. The overall aim is to create a pain centre of excellence that will support research and influence policy, social initiatives and healthcare delivery so that as many people as possible will receive the knowledge and skills that they need to overcome their pain. The money we raise will fund these projects.

We are in the process of applying to become a charity that will be structured to support the outlined projects.

If you suffer chronic pain or know someone who suffers, you will understand the vastness of this problem. Please support us in our mission to help people really understand their pain so that they can change their pain.