From Bundaberg to Caloundra, a dedicated team of pain experts is hitting the road for the 2025 Pain Revolution Rural Outreach Tour - and they're on a mission to change the way rural Australians understand and respond to chronic pain.
Kitted out in a hard-to-miss yellow - and proudly sponsored by the University of South Australia and Platinum sponsor Country to Coast Queensland - the Pain Revolution team includes scientists, health professionals, and people with lived experiences of chronic pain. Together, they'll tackle more than 800 km across regional Queensland to deliver much-needed pain education and support.
From 23-30 August, the Pain Revolution team will host free community events offering practical, evidence-based tools to help people manage and recover from chronic pain. Each stop will feature expert talks, the opportunity to connect with others, along with a range of educational stalls, all aiming to improve pain literacy across rural and regional communities.
Chronic pain affects one in five Australians, with 44% of people also living with depression or anxiety.
Pain Revolution CEO and world-renowned pain expert, UniSAs Professor Lorimer Moseley AO, is passionate about changing the way Australia understands and responds to pain.
"Chronic pain remains one of Australia's greatest health burdens - often misunderstood, mismanaged, and under-treated - and the Pain Revolution's mission is to change this," Professor Moseley says.
"Empowering people with a modern understanding of pain is a critical step toward recovery.
"By connecting with rural communities, we aim to help people return to the activities and life they want, while also building capacity among local health professionals.
"Together, we want to ensure that all Australians have the knowledge, skills and local support to reduce the impact of what is currently humanity's most disabling health condition."
Three-time Pain Revolution rider Laura Cannell has lived experience of chronic pain. She says the movement gave her life back.
"I first came into contact with the Pain Revolution in 2019 when they rode through Tasmania. I had been experiencing several years of spiralling chronic pain following a brain haemorrhage and a traffic accident while cycling. I was also dealing with the cumulative trauma of 20 years as a police officer, and I was in a pretty dark place," she says.
"After years of going nowhere with medications and interventions, I decided to 'give this pain education thing a go.' Over the following year, I absorbed the fundamentals of pain education and worked with Local Pain Educators. I was able to understand and reduce my pain and get control of my life.
"It sounds cliché, but the Pain Revolution initiative changed my life. I ride to give back - and to show others that there's hope"
Prof Moseley invites everyone to join the movement.
"Together, we can build a pain-smart Australia - one town, one conversation, one pedal stroke at a time."
2025 Pain Revolution Tour - Event Schedule
(All events are free. Registration now open: www.painrevolution.org/tour)
- Sat 23 Aug - 3pm & 5pm at Bundaberg Civic Centre, The Supper Room, 190 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg
- Sun 24 Aug - 4pm at Hervey Bay Community Centre, 22 Charles Street, Pialba
- Mon 25 Aug - 5pm at Gympie Community Centre, 18 Excelsior Road, Gympie
- Tue 26 Aug - 5pm at Maleny Community Centre, 23 Maple Street, Maleny
- Wed 27 Aug - 5pm at The J, 60 Noosa Drive, Noosa Heads
- Fri 29 Aug - 5pm at Baringa Community Centre, 20 Edwards Terrace, Caloundra
The University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide are joining forces to become Australia's new major university - Adelaide University. Building on the strengths, legacies and resources of two leading universities, Adelaide University will deliver globally relevant research at scale, innovative, industry-informed teaching and an outstanding student experience. Adelaide University will open its doors in January 2026. Find out more on the Adelaide University website.
