Rhiannon Bannenberg has lived with chronic pain since she fell from her horse when she was 13. Source: NewsComAu

These are the words of an inspirational 25-year-old Australian called Rhiannon Bannenberg who deals daily with levels of pain most of us could not bear, yet who has already achieved more than most of us will in a lifetime.

When she was 13 Rhiannon fell from her horse, a feisty young bay mare called Shakarah who she really loved.

“I was by myself when it happened and it became apparent very quickly that I had done some damage to my spine,” she recalls.

Turns out she’d fractured her spine in several places and was fortunate not to be in a wheelchair for life. But Rhiannon was unfortunate too, because chronic back pain became a reality every hour of every day from then onwards.

It’s nerve pain, a very acute strong burning ache in the middle of the back where your spine flexes,” she explains. I always feel nauseous too.”

One in five Australians endures chronic pain. When most people hear that statistic, they think of the elderly. But many young people suffer too. Medications help, but they only do so much and they can have damaging side effects.

To beat pain, it takes more than drugs, as Rhiannon Bannenberg explains.

“There were some hard moments. In my teenage years my mindset was completely different to what it is now. I was adamant that I hate this, that it is ruining my life. I felt at war with myself all the time.”

Many people who suffer pain — especially young people like Rhiannon — expect doctors to deliver answers, cures, solutions. Because that’s what the medical profession is there for, right?

As a teenager, Rhiannon hated it when she heard the phrase “pain management”. It meant there was no cure, no end in sight. That her life, as she saw it, would be defined by pain.

Which it basically was. The pain was so bad that Rhiannon couldn’t sleep. Standing was no better. Sitting was even worse. By the end of the day, she would be too exhausted to go out with friends or do the normal things teenagers do.

That’s when her anxiety kicked in. “I’d always thought of myself as even-keeled person, but I was starting to find it difficult,” she recalls. “My behaviour was changing. I didn’t feel connected.”

Salvation didn’t come overnight. That would be misrepresenting Rhiannon’s story. But we’ll give you the abbreviated version, which basically goes like this.

The one piece of medication which really gave Rhiannon enough energy to get her head together was sleeping pills. Then came meditation, acupuncture and a range of what she calls “non-western” treatments.

“I wanted a more holistic approach,” she says.

But what really turned things around for Rhiannon was a positive attitude.

“I thought, stop panicking and be proactive.

“The other thing I realised was that when I really concentrate on something, time seems to go faster which helps me cope. So I tried to find things I was passionate about.”

For Rhiannon, those things were music and film. She is now an accomplished vocalist and pianist who’s almost finished a masters degree in music. And her first feature film, Ambrosia, had its first private screening this week.

That’s right, Rhiannon Bannenberg has written and directed a feature film. We’d normally start a story like this with a nugget of information like that, but we thought we’d surprise you.

Naturally, Rhiannon has also written the musical score for it. The film, you won’t be surprised to learn, is about chronic pain — both in its overt plot and underlying theme.

“The undercurrent is that pain is always there but invisible, always slightly masked,” she says.

For Rhiannon herself, that’s how life has been. The pain is always there, excruciating yet invisible to others. She couldn’t and can’t change this. But she could and has changed her attitude. And she really hopes that message gets through to others.

“You have to learn coping strategies. There is nothing worse than a young person feeling like they cannot even imagine facing the rest of their life feeling the way they feel. A massive part of it is your attitude.

“Not that I am saying to people ‘oh just get over it or deal with it’. That is not what I am saying. For me it has been a combination of therapy and meditation and a whole heap of things. It is time-consuming and there are no fast results.

“Being anxious about my pain was just adding another problem on top. But then I started to realise that I can regain control.”

We could all learn much from Rhiannon Bannenberg. Source: NewsComAu

DID YOU KNOW?

• It’s National Pain Week and Australia is the only country in the world to have a National Pain Strategy.

• The National Pain Strategy is a sign that Australia takes seriously the issue of chronic pain, which medical experts have identified as a disease in its own right.

• Yes, that’s right. Chronic pain is not just a symptom of another condition but over time becomes a chronic condition in own right which causes changes to the nervous system.

• Thanks to Pain Australia CEO Leslie Brydon and the lobbying of her team, there are now 18 fully staffed clinics in Australian capital cities, and 14 in our regional areas, which deal specifically with chronic pain.

• For the record, back pain and arthritis are the most common causes of chronic pain among Australians. Together they account for roughly 40 per cent of early retirements.

• Speaking of retirements, did you know that chronic pain is the nation’s third most costly health problem? Pain Australia CEO Leslie Brydon says it burdens us with $7 billion in health system costs, and $11 billion in productivity costs!

• Employers can play a part in preventing the latter statistic. We spoke to a representative of one employer group, Tony Farley of the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations. Tony tells us that companies could save themselves (and Australia) millions if they employed certain strategies to aid workers with chronic pain. “Simple strategies like stand-up desks and a more flexible approach to where and when people work,” he explains.