Ancient yoga practices and new scientific evidence will be combined in a series of free online information sessions about managing pain offered by presenter Neil Pearson, a physiotherapist who specializes in the area.

An assistant clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, Pearson runs a clinic in Penticton. He often speaks at training sessions for health professionals and yoga teachers, but this is the first time in his 27-year career that he'll be running webinars for the general public. Weekly instalments of the five-part webinar series begin Jan. 7.

"Part of the reason for doing a webinar like this is that people in pain don't have a lot of money because a lot of them can't work or they were doing a job that they love and then they end up with a pain condition and they have to go down to part-time. It has much greater impact on our ability to work than most people pay attention to," said Pearson.

"People in pain totally get it. They understand that pain has changed pretty much everything in their life: the way they think, move, whether they can work, relationships." The first step forward, says Pearson, is for people to move beyond their search for a simple physical remedy to their pain, which may never be found. By the time most people accept that they have a long-term problem, their nervous systems are already locked in a pattern of pain, resulting in tight or spasming muscles and shallow breathing, which leads to more pain.

This cycle can be reset, first through obtaining more knowledge about the phenomenon and then incorporating breathing techniques and meditation to calm what Pearson calls a "hyper-vigilant" nervous system.

Specific yoga postures aren't a big part of his message, although he certainly advocates increased activity for people in pain, advising them to push themselves through some discomfort, but not to a point that will stop them from continuing to exercise the next day. Setting goals, combined with practise and persistence, can lead to better pain control, he says.

Chronic pain is common among Canadians of all ages, stemming from causes as diverse as arthritis, car accidents, digestive disorders and back problems. About 10 per cent of people between the ages of 12 and 44 said they were not free of pain in a 2007-2008 national health survey conducted by Statistics Canada.

Thirty-eight per cent of seniors living in institutions reported experiencing pain regularly, as did 27 per cent of seniors living at home, according to Statistics Canada. It concluded that people with chronic pain are more likely to use the health care system, are less likely to say they are satisfied with their life and more likely to have mood and anxiety disorders.

The Vancouver-based Canadian Institute for the Relief of Pain and Disability is sponsoring the event and participants are asked to register by going to http://www.cirpd.org. More than 500 people have already signed up. The CIRPD is a charity with goal of offering credible scientific information to professionals and the public. It offers other webinars throughout the year and has an online video library.

eellis@vancouversun.com

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Yoga techniques can ease chronic pain, says expert