Give a Squat About Pain During Pain Awareness Month

Penney Cowan, Founder and CEO, American Chronic Pain Association

When is the last time you did a wall squat until it burned? Imagine living with that burning pain day in and day out. People with pain do it every day. Many of them lead lives like anybody else. Pain does not stop them from going to work, taking care of their family, enjoying a fall day. People with pain are some of the strongest, most determined people you will meet. Let’s give them the credit they deserve for living life despite pain―Give a Squat 4 Pain.

In 2001, the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) created Partners for Understanding Pain and declared September Pain Awareness Month. Over the next seven years, ACPA and Partners led the effort to raise awareness about understanding all the issues of living with pain, and continued working to establish and grow September as Pain Awareness Month. We succeeded, and now it’s time to reach even more. With more than 100 million people living with some form of pain, understanding of the challenges of living with pain is important to everyone in the U.S.

We are encouraging individuals to do a wall squat to begin to understand pain. Wall squats are difficult and painful, yet if you get a group of people together to challenge one another to see who can hold the wall squat position longest, you will see some smiling, grimacing, straining and a variety of expressions. What you will not see is the pain they are experiencing, even though it is very real. Our hope is to help people gain a deeper understanding of pain, and realize that even when you cannot see it, it is very real.

Anyone can show they care about the people they know and love who are living with chronic pain. Post a picture of yourself or a group doing a wall squat, share it on social media and challenge your network to do the same.

Join the effort on Twitter by using #giveasquat4pain or click here. Give a Squat 4 Pain and support the ACPA and what we have been doing help people with pain live richer fuller lives since 1980! Thank you for your support!