Chronic pain affects over 40% of the UK population, including around 18% of adolescents, with up to 6% of young people experiencing severe chronic pain. Despite its high prevalence, understanding and education around chronic pain remain limited. Long-term pain is strongly linked to reduced quality of life, increased healthcare use, and poorer long-term physical and psychological outcomes. In young people especially, chronic pain can disrupt school, social development, and emotional wellbeing. Yet, awareness and support remain lacking in both clinical and everyday settings. This talk aims to provide a clear overview of what chronic pain is, explore key risk factors that contribute to its development and persistence, and discuss current approaches to treatment and management. We’ll also touch on emerging strategies and the importance of early intervention. In short, we’ll explore why chronic pain sucks so much – and what the heck we’re trying to do about it.

Anna Fieldwalker (she/her) is a postdoc research associate at Great Ormond Street Hospital, working on a new pain management programme for young people with all kinds of chronic pain. Her background is in psychology, with a keen interest in pain, VR, music, videogames, and swearing at computer screens.