Former armed forces personnel across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area are being urged to come forward for support if they are living with chronic pain.
A free to access course developed by Help for Heroes in conjunction with veterans, is available to help people to take back control of their lives.
It’s been described as a crucial first step towards reducing the devastating impact of chronic pain.
The BCP area has a population of 15,894 veterans and the charity believes more people living with chronic pain could be helped.
Chronic pain is defined by the World Health Organisation as pain that has persisted for over three months and is a life-changing condition affecting more than 34 per cent – 15.5 million people – in England.
Janine Whitley is a Veterans Clinical Advisor at Help for Heroes and former Royal Navy nurse who served four tours in Afghanistan during her 25-year military career.
She said: “Since the course launched the feedback is overwhelmingly positive.
“However, we think we can help more people, especially in the Bournemouth area, which has a large number of veterans.
“Through the course, we educate people to manage chronic pain better.
“It’s about empowering yourself by increasing your knowledge and in some cases a reset from the military mindset of just ‘pushing through’.”
Chronic pain is described as a hidden disability; it derails careers, wrecks relationships and destroys mental health.
On average, five military personnel are medically discharged from the UK Armed Forces every day, mainly as a result of musculoskeletal injuries, which evidence shows increases the risk of chronic pain.
Help for Heroes describes chronic pain as a “hidden enemy”, affecting three out of four veterans that they support.
Janine said: “Veterans are eligible for the chronic pain course, no matter when or where they served and irrespective of whether their illness or injury was caused in service.
“There’s information on our website about how to apply for the course, along with some free-to-use self-help guides.
“We know that veterans can sometimes feel they don’t deserve help – but at Help for Heroes we’re here to ensure that everyone who has served their country receives the support they need.”
For more information about the course, go to visit here
In May Help for Heroes launched its campaign calling on the government to remove unfair financial barriers, to ensure thousands of UK veterans receive vital compensation and support for long term pain.
As of last month over 32,000 members of the British public have signed the petition.