People from all walks of life have discovered the life-changing benefits of self-managing pain effectively

I was very impressed with the advice and support given on the course. I had made a concerted effort to do stretch exercises every day, I also practised meditation and mindfulness, this was a new experience for me. Unfortunately I had a major fall while on the course and fractured my pelvis, this has really set me back. I intend to revisit the course in 6-8 weeks when the fracture has healed. I am still practising the mindfulness and relaxation techniques. I am very nervous to do the stretching exercises as concerned these will affect the healing of my pelvis. I have had to take more analgesia than usual, this caused constipation. Overall I thought the course is very beneficial and would have loved to have worked through it without the major set back of my fractured pelvis. I would recommend this course to anyone with constant pain.

I found the course very easy to do and also found it very empowering! It's good to actually feel in control for a change.

I used to get very anxious when I found myself in those times of pain, trying to get out of the situation ASAP and often panic or blow up because people don't understand what I am going through when they just expect me to act and be like a normal person. Now I am much calmer and do not get anxious at all. I also feel that I have more hope and that there is a chance that I can do a few more things I gave up doing. The breathing exercises really help me reduce the pain that makes me so panicky. I still pray that I do not have to live the pain and have it all gone, but I have the grace to live with it.

I found the course very helpful with lots of practical information and advice. The managing pain resources are very well explained and have been helpful in my understanding of how to manage my pain. I look forward to continuing with applying the strategies for managing my pain on my return to work. I am certain they will make a big difference to how I feel about my pain and what I can do.

An excellent program, well focused and directed.

I enjoyed doing this course and found the relaxation and mindfulness exercises the most helpful. Unfortunately I couldn't download them to iPad though so had to do them online. Great course, interesting, learnt some really useful approaches. I get into negative thought patterns which this course has taught me how to tackle. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to do it.

I found that working through the course at my own pace was very helpful and the instructional videos were very motivating. Thank you to the whole team for all your assistance over the past weeks.

I found the meditating very good, it has helped me relax a bit more and also the stretching exercises.

I have found the course really helpful and often use the techniques I have been shown. I had a lapse in logging into the course at one stage as was doing really well managing pain. A flare up prompted me to log in and has really helped my mindset. I hope I can continue to log in in the future and use this as a tool to manage my pain. Thank you, really helpful.

The course is good for me as I am working with back pain and a brain tumor so my concentration level changes. The course is staged so well, thank you.

Lots of practical treatments here. You go away thinking you have a plan and with the tools to make a difference.

The course has been really helpful in increasing my awareness of my unhelpful coping strategies (e.g. Overdoing it when I feel good and then suffering because it brings my pain on worse and I can't do anything). I want to continue with the pacing and relaxation because these have been the most helpful for me.

I feel I have got some benefit from the course in as much as I can relax with the breathing exercises, albeit the pain is still much in evidence on walking etc. but I will persevere with exercise etc.

Beneficial but sometimes hard to concentrate.

I was sceptical at the beginning as I have been in an awful lot of back pain for over a year. The pain is still the same, but the course has helped me to relax more.

I have looked forward to doing each step of this as it has given me some focus, I have struggled with the relaxation part but have found the stretching very helpful.

Excellent 

The Pathway through Pain course is really different to anything I have been offered before and offers a variety of different things to consider.

This was extremely helpful. It explained all the answers to questions I had thought about. Pain does not cause further damage. Mindfulness and meditation videos really worked! I would recommend this to people with persistent pain. Thank you.

I found the emotional advice helpful, and have tried to allow people to help me before my pain overwhelms me. The exercises are good, but nerve pain can prevent all but the basics. I tell myself that if I can just keep mobilising, however slowly and ungainly, this is better than nothing! I have enjoyed the mindfulness exercises, and try to breathe through the pain at acute moments with some success. I also tried reducing my pain meds (gabapentin) in a gradual way, but ended up with terrible nausea and hyperosmia which laid me out for a week. I couldn't drink much and did not eat during this time. I eventually looked into withdrawal symptoms and realised that I was suffering from most of the symptoms, so have returned to half the original dose with good effect. I would like to have had advice about the reduction process ie, consult with your GP before attempting to wean off the analgesia, which I've managed to police but that drug IS DANGEROUS!

I found the course helpful even if it reminds you pain can be managed when you feel it's out of control. Learning to relax is an important part of pain control.

I found this course to be useful and informative. It has certainly given me an insight into how I deal with pain and what to do to keep going. All the professionals were extremely encouraging, offered clear practical advice, tips and helpful videos and audio. The course has been easy to fit in with my life and work and I would recommend anyone to give it a go. I will continue to practice what I've learned and thank the team for their efforts. Having people who understand what I'm going through has made me feel less isolated.

The course is very good. Unfortunately I had a personal tragedy when I lost my son. He was awaiting open heart surgery but unfortunately he never got it in time due to the waiting list. This has left me feeling really down. I am awaiting counselling from Cruse. I do love your meditation parts of the course and I will continue to practice them. Thank you..

I would like to thank everyone, who has given of their time and experience during this course, which is much appreciated. I did take some time to complete the course unfortunately, due to a fall, resulting in a head injury, however the fact that the participant can go at their own pace is a great idea. I am continuing to try to walk more and try keep myself more mobile, which is my main aim just now. I have been very fortunate with the advice and care given, by the professionals on this course, my excellent GP, Surgeon and pain clinic nurse, with which I would not have coped over the past few years. Thank you for all your help. 

Thank you to the team that has worked so hard putting together this course. I work in Academia and know how much work is needed to put together an online course. I really enjoyed this course and it was great being able to do it online, although I missed chatting with other people. The contents are great and so are the specialists!