He Honoka Āwhina

Useful Links

This page provides useful websites for understanding pain and for healthy living. For specific health professionals that work with people with shoulder pain, please see the Health Providers page. 

Understanding Pain

‘Navigating Pain’ - free pdf booklet by the New Zealand Pain Society for people with persistent pain

Many people who live with shoulder pain also have pain elsewhere, for example of the low back, the neck or knees. The NZ Pain Society booklet is highly recommended, whether you have pain only in the shoulder or also elsewhere in the body. It has a holistic approach to self-manageing pain by looking after your overall health, movement, tips for sleeping, and much more. Please feel free to download and save or print this booklet.

Pain Trainer

This is an interactive online App that you can use to manage your pain. It was developed by the Centre of Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne in collaboration with Duke University and Hackensack Meridian Health. 

Tame The Beast — It's time to rethink persistent pain

A beautiful, evidence based explanation of persistent pain by Professor Lorimer Moseley, a pain scientist, University of South Australia, Australia. Find more Youtube videos by him with a Google search. 

Why pain can be weird?

This webpage is written by a Canadian science journalist, Paul Ingraham.

Understanding pain in 5 min in Arabic

Whiteboard Youtube video

The Pain Revolution

This site is developed and maintained by pain researchers at the University of South Australia, Adelaide. It provides information for people with pain, clinicians and the community. Useful resources can be found here. The site also includes tips for starting exercising and sticking with them. 

Physical Activity

Green Prescription

Green Prescription is a support service in Aotearoa New Zealand to provide guidelines for being active and to improve diet for people of all ages. Your GP can give advice where you can find a health professional that can guide you in the use of physical activity and to improve your nutrition. 

Healthify - He Puna Waiora - Physical Activity

Pacing and chunking

Pacing and chunking is about dividing activity or work-related tasks into little bits to try to minimise a pain flare-up. it can also be used to plan daily exercises, and planning recovery that may be needed to let any discomfort caused by the exercise to settle down.

Healthy Eating

How well we eat can influence our health and wellbeing, as outlined in the 'Whole Body Health'. There are a number of options for healthy eating. Your choice may be influenced by your culture, whānau, affordability and individual preferences. It is important that you develop eating habits that you can sustain in the long term. 

Healthify - resources for Healthy Eating

Heart Research Institute New Zealand

Low carbohydrate nutrition plans have become more popular for healthy weight management and for conditions such as type 2 diabetes. We do not yet know whether this eating approach helps with recurring shoulder pain. But if you are interested in improving your general health (Whole Body Health), you may want to get more information about options for sustainable nutrition approaches. This page by the Heart Research Institute (Wellington) may provide a good starting point. 

Guidance for sleeping

Shoulder pain can disturb people's sleep which, in turn, can influence their sense of well-being. Here are sites that provide generic guidance for sleeping. 

Please also see the pdf file of the book “Navigating Pain” by the NZ Pain Society, p 19, for tips about sleeping.

Aotearoa New Zealand Ministry of Health

Healthify - How to sleep better

University of Otago WellSleep Centre

Arthritis New Zealand

People with shoulder pain may also have pain in other joints that may have patterns of arthritis. You can find further useful resources about pain and keeping active at their site. 

Mental Wellness

Mental Health Foundation - What is Wellbeing?

The Mental Health Foundation is a charity to improve well-being of individuals, whānau, organisation and community. Amongst other information, the webpage provides a framework to work towards Wellbeing. 

Headspace

This website provides guidance for mindfullness and meditation. It provides initial 14-day free access, and then requires a subscription. 

Mental Wealth

The Mental Wealth Project is a mental health literacy education programme for young people.

Page updated 30th April 2024, Gisela Sole