My problems started in the early 1980s with the introduction of computers in most public service departments.In 1986,
In 1962 at the age of 21, Renée was involved in a serious car accident that kept her in an English hospital - in a 40-bed geriatric ward - for nearly two years.
It happened on 28 August 2008 at 8.28am. Everything after that is a bit of a blur, but the moment the accident happened will be stuck in my memory forever.
6 when I was 17. Unrelated to any incident, I began to experience extreme back pain. I later discovered it was a degenerative disease with no cure, but at the time I thought it could just be 'fixed'.
I injured my neck in 1993 while attending a Scout Jamboree in Canada as a carer for a child with cerebral palsy.My pain symptoms didn't really show up until 1997 when I started getting lots of neck and arm pain. 
I first incurred a serious back injury at work in 1985. It was not able to be evidence-based for five years (at the time of surgery).
I woke up one morning in 1988 with a sore back.As the pain continued to increase, I consulted my general practitioner who referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. After some tests, I was told that there were no problems and that the pain should go away. It didn't.
As a chronic migraine sufferer I've lived with pain since I was a small child. With the help of sub-occipital electrodes and an implanted pulse generator (IPG implant) I can now manage my daily pain and rely less on heavy medications.
September 23, 2006 was a beautiful, still, sunny autumn day.I was in the UK to visit my elderly mother and other family members and had taken the train to London to visit a friend.
Harry Perkins, son of Olympic champion swimmer and Painaustralia Director Kieren Perkins OAM, was diagnosed with chronic migraine at the tender age of eleven.
It was during a long jump attempt at my school's athletics try-outs when I was nine that I first hurt myself.As usual, I ran and jumped but as I hit the sand I felt pain in what I thought was my ankle.
That Friday in June 1990 began like any other Friday – two adults, three teenagers, family pets, all heading out. I was totally unaware that this was the day "Super Mum" would die and life as I knew it would be over.
I was an advisory teacher when I suffered a spinal injury in 2007 that landed me in a Brisbane hospital emergency department.Thanks to a neurosurgeon, I regained the use of my left leg and the crushing pain eased. 
Breast cancer is a diagnosis heard all too often these days at 13,000 diagnoses a year in Australia.
Before my accident, about six years ago, I worked at a prestige car dealership in Brisbane. This work was physically demanding as well as being quite social. We all had to get on well as it could be quite a pressured environment and humour often kept us going.
My injury happened over two days – August 30-31, 2001 – when I was asked to reorganise the office's new filing system.
I had two major cycling accidents in the 1980s which caused a spinal fracture and severe whiplash.I quickly got over the accidents and was fine until the early 1990s when I started to have migraines. This gradually progressed to daily migraines by 1996.
My first taste of pain and injury was when I was only three years old.We had a car accident and I had my lower lumbar joints damaged as well as whiplash injuries to my neck. No one knew this at the time, though, and by the time I was nine I was having X-rays on my back to find out why I was in so much pain.
I'd survived the traumas of a major motor car accident, the ignominity of a prostatectomy, and the despair and exasperation of three separate cancers and their harsh therapies, but nothing had prepared me for the greatest challenge of my life, dealing with chronic pain
"Fortunately", the pain from my neck injury was so severe that it was taken seriously from the start.
Katia: Sport injury
I was nine years old when I damaged the ligaments in my left leg in a hurdling accident.After a year of treatment my leg hadn't healed – in fact the pain had worsened and I was diagnosed with chronic regional pain syndrome.
This was later re-diagnosed as central sensitisation, a hypersensitivity of the central nervous system.
Following my diagnosis, I attended the pain management clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne for a year but after this the pain spread and I developed other problem areas in my body.
I had always been a very active child, and I found that having constant pain inhibited me from simple things like being able to play. I had to give up basketball, tennis and squad swimming.
I feel like I lost most of my adolescence in that I was unable to go out and socialise as my friends did. It was a real struggle to get through year 12 and complete my tertiary studies successfully as I am an aspiring musician. I had to change high schools in order to get the extra care and flexibility that I needed.
The most difficult thing for me was the sense of isolation that I felt from all of my friends and loved ones. I truly felt alone and as though nobody could understand my situation.
This affected my mood and I found that the less that I could do, the less I tried. This obviously lowered my self esteem.
I cannot say enough how scary pain is when one does not understand its cause, or how to treat it. I developed night terrors about pain and situations in which my pain would limit me. In my experience, the psychological effects of pain are just as intimidating as the physical ones.
I experienced many false diagnoses and was referred to many different specialists to "fix" my pain. I endured many treatments which worsened my condition and increased my pain levels.
I also saw numerous health professionals who questioned and denied the existence of my pain and alluded to me being a malingerer. For 11 years, my parents and I tried to find a successful treatment or cure for my pain. When each inevitably failed, I felt that there was simply no successful treatment available.
I was repeatedly told that there was nothing medically wrong with me, and this, in a sense, created an adversarial approach to doctors. In hindsight, it is understandable that my chronic pain was not easily identifiable in the same way as an acute condition.
Finally, I discovered the Barbara Walker Centre for Pain Management at St Vincent's Hospital and in the past 18 months I have gained a sense of independence that I have never before had.
The centre acted as a vessel through which I was able to learn about my pain and take a holistic approach to improving it. I like the fact that I was finally able to empower myself by taking steps personally to improve the way that I felt and, more importantly, I felt like I had some control over my future and my pain levels.
I recently was able to go on a trip around Europe and Malaysia for nearly two months with my boyfriend. This holiday was an experience that I never thought I would be able to either cope with or enjoy. I walked about 10 kilometres every day, swam and rode a bike. I had an absolute ball and am still surprised by what I am capable of now.
I think it's important to mention this trip because people should know that when chronic pain is well managed and understood, the patient can still have a good quality of life. Our situation is not hopeless.