New insights into childhood trauma and chronic pain highlighted at key pain specialists’ meeting
How early-life trauma can shape pain into adulthood is the focus of a keynote address at an international meeting of specialist pain medicine physicians in Auckland today.
UK pain medicine expert Professor Lesley Colvin will speak at the annual symposium of the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA).
Professor Colvin’s keynote address, “Adverse childhood experiences and chronic pain” will examine how early-life trauma shapes pain across the lifespan.
Nearly 100 specialist pain medicine physicians are meeting at the JW Marriott Auckland for the symposium which features speakers from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US.
Professor Colvin, Chair of Pain Medicine at the University of Dundee in Scotland, leads an extensive research program into the biological and psychosocial factors that underpin chronic pain.
As co-leader of the research program and Chronic Pain Research Group her research team works with various organisations including the Consortium Against Pain Inequality (CAPE), to help define how adverse childhood experiences influence the development and persistence of chronic pain conditions.
“Professor Colvin’s research is pivotal in shifting how we think about chronic pain,” FPM Dean Dr Dilip Kapur explains.
“Understanding the links between childhood adversity and chronic pain has profound implications for how we assess, support and treat people living with persistent pain.”
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect or household instability, are increasingly recognised as key contributors to lifelong health challenges, including chronic pain.
International research, including systematic reviews and ongoing international studies led by Professor Colvin and colleagues, has shown consistent associations between ACEs and chronic pain in adulthood.
Professor Colvin’s current ACE-focused research includes the ACE-MAP study, which investigates how adverse experiences affect sensory processing and pain thresholds in adults living with multimorbidity and chronic pain. The findings from this feasibility study aim to inform future large-scale investigations into pain mechanisms and personalised care.
The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), including the Faculty of Pain Medicine and the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine, is one of the largest medical colleges in Australia and New Zealand. ANZCA is responsible for the postgraduate training of medical practitioners to become specialist anaesthetists and specialist pain medicine physicians.
