The week aims to de-stigmatise the experiences of people living with chronic pain while also championing the need for the voice of people living with chronic pain to be heard when any related health policy is developed.

Chronic pain is different from acute pain in that it lasts for more than three months, or in many cases, beyond normal healing time and doesn't obey the same rules as acute pain. It's origins can be somewhat of a mystery, sometimes caused by ongoing disease states, work-related issues or muscular-skeletal conditions.

Whatever the cause, chronic pain can interrupt every facet of a person's life from sleep, social interactions to simply performing daily tasks like doing the groceries, and can heavily impact on mental health.

Dramatic improvements in the discipline of pain medicine in the last few decades mean that rather than putting up with pain, "help is at hand" for even the most complex conditions.

"This has been led mainly by advances in technology," according to Dr Houman Ebrahimi, Clinical Radiologist at Alto Imaging.

"Procedures that have previously been performed without imaging at a doctor's clinic or with obsolete equipment such as fluoroscopy, are now performed with millimetre accuracy using CT, MRI and Ultrasound."

The most common cause of chronic pain in our ageing population is that related to osteoarthritis.

"Whether it be back, neck, hip or shoulder pain, the culprit is often undiagnosed acute or chronic osteoarthritis," said Dr Ebrahimi, who is also a Research Radiologist at HMRI Imaging Centre and a Conjoint Lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Medicine at University of Newcastle.

"All too often the first line of treatment for acute pain is to take oral pain killers.

"The problem with treating undiagnosed pain is that as it continues to be present, painkillers cease to work at the same dose requiring an increase in the dose that you take. Over time you may require stronger painkillers to mask the underlying problem."

Work-related pain is also a major problem in our society, whether it be an acute injury related to the work environment or due to the repetitive strain of inadequate ergonomics.

Receiving appropriate treatment in the context of a work injury can be confusing and difficult to organise.

Alto Imaging specialises in finding out what is causing your pain and then treating it appropriately, liaising with occupational health practitioners and insurance companies.

"The first step is to have a consultation with your GP to obtain a referral to the pain management clinic," Dr Ebrahimi said. "At Alto we coordinate a process of diagnosis with your GP, involving imaging such as MRI and clinical consultation to first diagnose your pain generators. Our approach involves the accurate diagnosis and focused treatment of pain to avoid any of our patients getting into problems with painkillers and the problems associated with them.

"We then implement a treatment plan to help alleviate the patient's pain and thereafter monitor it to make sure the patient makes a full recovery and is receiving the help they need for their chronic pain."

Ultimately Alto's streamlined pain management service is focused on restoring quality of life amongst those that suffer from pain.

For more information call 4929 7222 or visit www.altoimaging.com.au.