Living With Chronic Pain? A Free Canadian Online Resource You Should Know About
Living with chronic pain can affect almost every part of daily life — from sleep, mobility and work to mood, relationships and overall quality of life.
For many patients, getting access to specialized multidisciplinary pain care can also be difficult. Wait times can be long, services may not be available close to home, and some helpful treatments may not be covered by extended health benefits. That is why Power Over Pain is a resource worth knowing about.
Funded by Health Canada, Power Over Pain is a Canadian-developed online platform designed to provide people living with chronic pain with free, evidence-based information and self-management resources.
What Is Power Over Pain?
Power Over Pain was developed through collaboration among clinicians, researchers and people living with pain, with contributions from organizations including the Ottawa Hospital, Hospital for Sick Children, Women’s College Hospital, University of Calgary and Memorial University of Newfoundland.
The platform was also co-designed with people who live with pain, helping ensure that its resources are practical, relevant and accessible. Importantly, there are separate resources for adults and youth living with chronic pain.
Five Ways Patients Can Use the Portal
Power Over Pain organizes its services around several key functions:
1. Track. Patients can complete check-ins and track symptoms and progress over time, helping recognize patterns involving pain, sleep, mood and other factors that may influence overall well-being.
2. Learn. The portal includes a library of evidence-based resources, including articles, videos, podcasts and other educational materials addressing specific pain-management skills and related issues such as sleep, coping and emotional well-being. The platform can also use information from a patient’s check-ins to suggest resources that may be particularly relevant to them.
3. Connect. Living with chronic pain can be isolating. Power Over Pain provides opportunities for people living with pain to connect with others through virtual peer-support groups and other support services.
4. Talk. The portal also provides access to one-on-one telephone counselling with a professional counsellor — recognizing that pain does not occur in isolation from mental health, stress, substance use or other aspects of a person’s life.
5. Attend. Patients can participate in live online events, including workshops led by chronic pain clinicians, offering practical education, self-management strategies, question-and-answer opportunities and guidance on navigating the available resources.
Why This Matters for Our Patients
The management of chronic pain has evolved. Rather than focusing exclusively on identifying a physical cause and treating pain with medication or procedures, modern pain management recognizes the interaction between physical, psychological and social factors — commonly described as the biopsychosocial approach to pain.
That does not mean that chronic pain is “all in your head.” It means that effective pain management may involve several complementary approaches, including physical activity, sleep management, education, psychological strategies, social support and appropriate medical treatment.
Power Over Pain provides patients with access to some of these non-pharmacological and self-management resources without requiring them to travel to a specialized pain clinic.
Free and Canadian
One of the most important features of Power Over Pain is that it is free to Canadians. The portal is funded by Health Canada and is not dependent on corporate sponsorship. It is also available in English and French, with resources created specifically for Canadian patients.
A Resource — Not a Replacement for Medical Care
Power Over Pain can be particularly useful while patients are waiting for specialized services or as an additional resource alongside care from their family physician, specialist, pharmacist or other healthcare professionals. It should not replace medical assessment when a patient has new, worsening or unexplained symptoms.
However, for someone living with chronic pain who wants reliable information and practical tools for self-management, it can be a valuable place to start.
Ask Your Healthcare Provider About It
If you or someone in your family is living with chronic pain, ask your healthcare provider whether Power Over Pain may be appropriate for you.
At Orleans Family Health Clinic, we believe access to good healthcare includes access to reliable health information — and sometimes the right resource can be available from home, at no cost.
Learn more: Power Over Pain
