Drawing on lessons learnt in allied health & medicine: exploring pain science in radiography practice

Pain represents one of the biggest challenges to health globally. Both acute and chronic pain are among the most common reasons why people seek medical care: either to receive an investigation and diagnosis to explain it, or to seek an alleviation of pain itself where it interferes with quality of life, functional capacity, and overall well-being [ 1]. Musculoskeletal pain makes up many of these presentations, with chronic back pain and arthritis representing up to one-fifth of all GP consultations in Australia [ 2]. Chronic low back pain alone is the leading cause of years lived with disability globally, with profound impacts on both the health system and society at large [ 3]. It is estimated that approximately 3.2 million people in Australia live with chronic pain, contributing to a total cost of $73.2 billion dollars in 2018, $12.2 billion of which was related to direct health system costs [ 2]. Pain is not just a problem in primary care, with data suggesting that anywhere between 52 - 78% of people presenting to emergency departments report a chief complaint of pain