For many people, living with long term health conditions can be disabling and frustrating. However, there are many things which you can do to help manage your health with the support of health care professionals, family, friends and work colleagues.

With this in mind NHS Forth Valley has produced a simple information booklet to provide you with some handy tips and skills to support you along the way along with details of local support groups.

• The Self Care Toolkit for People Living with Persistent Health Conditions
  A helpful booklet for people in the NHS Forth Valley area who are living with a persistent health conditions.

What is Persistent Pain?

People often experience pain that comes on after an injury, an operation, or for no apparent reason. Sometimes, the pain continues for longer than 12 weeks, despite medication or treatment – this is called chronic or persistent pain.

Chronic pain is a long term condition in itself. It can affect anybody of any age and any part of the body.

Sometimes it can also be a problem for people with conditions like diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel disease. The usual medical tests don’t always show a cause or reason for why pain persists, but it is always real.

Persistent pain can be frustrating and can stop people doing what matters to them. It can affect relationships and people’s roles in life. This is common, but there are lots of things you can try that may support you.

Visit our Support and Resources section for local and national information on how to live well with persistent pain.