We all know what it's like to have a banging headache and no painkillers.

But when your pain is constant, affecting your every move, it suddenly takes on a new meaning.

Janine Cooper, 44, was devastated when pain from the degeneration of the discs in her back forced her to give up her job as a lecturer.

Every day tasks became a painful chore and she thought she would never work again.

But thanks to a course of pain management, provided by York Hospital, Janine learned mental and physical techniques to manage her daily pain.

Now she helps to provide the Expert Patient Programme (EPP), run by Selby and York Primary Care Trust. (PCT)

"Any condition can cause pain and the type of pain could be right across the board, from aching to dragging or sharp pain," said Janine.

"People who suffer from conditions such as arthritis, muscular sclerosis or back problems could suffer a lot of pain, and it can often be accompanied by negative thoughts such as anger and frustration.

"When I took early retirement because of my pain it was literally overnight.

"I went from being a very active, busy full-time lecturer to doing literally nothing. It was very difficult."

With the help of pain management, Janine not only learned how to cope, but how to educate her family to deal with her pain too.

"At one point I was on 16 different drugs but now I'm down to three and I would say that 99 per cent of the time I manage my pain through techniques I've learned," she said.

"My husband works away and when he comes home on a weekend, if I'm not feeling well, I tell him.

"Before I would keep it to myself and just expect him to realise, and get moodier and moodier as the night went on that he had not noticed.

"If my pain gets too much I don't say I can't do something like I used to, I tell my family I'm going to lie down for ten minutes and see how I feel when I get back."

She tries to help people to use similar techniques.

She said: "On the Expert Patients Programme we look at managing skills and ways of dealing with pain and conditions. We look at setting goals and breaking them down into small steps.

"One thing we suggest is to write a list of your goals, say what you would like to achieve in three months, then break it down into small doable sections. It could be something you'd like to do socially, or to do with eating or exercise.

"Another is to think of distraction techniques for when the pain gets too much. A lot of people say they ring a friend or read a book but it really needs to be something you can do anywhere, such as if you're in the dentist's chair or having something done in hospital. Cognitive techniques are best, such as thinking of a flower beginning with each letter of the alphabet. "Some people also find it helps to think that tomorrow is another day or every cloud has a silver lining or there's always somebody worse off than them."

Janine said it was important to understand the pain/symptom cycle.

"Try to break that vicious circle as the two things feed on each other," she said. "If you're tired the chances are you're going to feel some pain and if you're stressed then you're going to have tense muscles."

Expert Patient Programme courses last for six weeks with each session lasting two-and-a-half hours.

For information, phone the EPP office on 01904 724278.

Updated: 11:00 Friday, July 29, 2005