(gentle music)
- My name is Andrew and I'm a pain researcher.
What this means,
is I spend a lot of time thinking about pain.
I put people in pain by putting their hands
in hot or cold water,
or by making them exercise at painful intensities.
I measure people's pain responses,
and then test different ways to reduce their pain.
So you could say I'm somewhat pain obsessed.
But despite this obsession, if you asked me "What is pain?",
I'd struggle to give you an answer.
I could give you our best working definition,
but it wouldn't cover all aspects of pain.
After all, we use the word pain
to describe so many varied experiences
from spraining your ankle
to the pain of losing a loved one.
My research then,
attempts to better understand this question of what is pain?
I hope to unpack what pain is,
and describe its unique qualities.
How it can be both so personal as well as so universal.
How it can be helpful, but at the same time
for so many people so debilitating.
So, what is pain?
Well, I hope that through your support,
I can better answer that question,
and provide hope for the millions of Australians
currently suffering from chronic pain.
(gentle music)