German Pain League

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The German Pain League eV is the self-help organization for people with chronic pain . Since 1990 she has been committed to ensuring that patients with chronic pain receive adequate therapy and care. The seat is in Frankfurt am Main. There are 65 regional self-help groups under the umbrella of the German Pain League.

"The fact that chronic pain is now viewed as a treatable disease and not as a fate that cannot be influenced is our greatest success," said Marianne Koch , President of the German Pain League from 1997 to 2011. The current president (as of 2012) is Michael A. Überall , neuropediatrist from Nuremberg.

history

The association was founded on January 16, 1990 by a self-help group for pain patients in Frankfurt . In 1991 she was co-organizer of the German Pain Day in Frankfurt. Since then, a patient forum has been held at all German Pain Days, in which the most important new findings in pain medicine are presented by experts in a generally understandable manner. In 1998 the league already had 1,000 members and 42 regional self-help groups. On the occasion of the German Pain Day on February 24, 1999, the patient magazine appeared for the first time. In 2003 Marianne Koch received the honorary award of the German Pain Prize at the German Pain Day. The German Pain League began to financially support the regional groups. In 2010 the Pain League had over 5000 members and 102 self-help groups. Three full-time and two volunteer employees work in the office.

aims

The association aims to improve the quality of life for people with chronic pain. She therefore demands:

  • Diagnosis and therapy of acute and chronic pain must be included in the licensing regulations as a compulsory subject so that doctors are familiar with the basics of pain treatment. Pain medicine is also part of the training regulations for specialists.
  • Establishment of a qualification as a “specialist in pain therapy”. This ensures that pain diagnosis and pain therapy are specifically represented at universities and in medical education and training and do not appear as appendages to other disciplines. Professorships and chairs must be created accordingly.
  • Pain research has to be a fundamental part of health research.
  • Graduated care and defined treatment paths for pain patients and clear interfaces must be established in the healthcare system. This is the only way to avoid “patient careers” and the chronification of pain.
  • Chronic pain must be treated in an interdisciplinary manner. Pain centers are required in which different disciplines - doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists - work together and care for the patient together. This tiered supply structure must be available nationwide.
  • The political, economic and structural framework conditions of the health system must be changed in such a way that they enable the appropriate treatment of pain patients

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