By Barby Ingle, Columnist  

In a few short days Nerve Pain Awareness month begins – a global movement known in the pain community as NERVEmber.

I began the NERVEmber project in 2009 as a way to bring more attention to chronic nerve pain conditions such as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD/CRPS) and diabetic neuropathy. The term NERVEmber is derived from the burning pain people with neuropathy feel, combined with the month of November. 

The Power of Pain Foundation hosts the official NERVEmber project events each year. Since its inception, tens of thousands of nerve pain patients and organizations have signed on to help promote NERVEmber and bring awareness to the 150 plus conditions that have nerve pain as a symptom.  

The color orange is the international color for chronic pain awareness, which also fits right in with the fall colors we typically see.

Our largest spotlight throughout the month shines on RSD, which is one of the most painful conditions known to mankind. Yet, like many chronic pain conditions, RSD is misunderstood, mistreated and often misdiagnosed. 

Each day during the month of NERVEmber the Power of Pain Foundation will present an awareness task that we can all participate in. This year we are also giving away over $1,000 in prizes -- available to anyone who registers to participate and uses special hashtags on social media, completes daily tasks, and hosts or attends an event. The more you participate in official NERVEmber events, the more chances you have to win!

You can bring more awareness to conditions like RSD, CRPS and diabetes by posting every day in NERVEmber using social media tags on your posts such as @powerofpain and #PaintTheWorldOrange. Using these tags will earn participants chances to win some great prizes.

The Power of Pain Foundation and the #NERVEmber project is also supporting the #CRPSdayofaction, #RSDdayofaction, @theproject3x5’s, #OrangeInitiative,  #ColorTheWorldOrange, and #ColourTheWorldOrange. 

Official events include tasks shared on social media, wearing t-shirts, Paint the World Orange, and educational series.

The daily calendar of events are available here on the NERVEmber webpage.

One of our newest additions to the project is #painPOP. We are asking people to get involved by popping a balloon and challenging others to do the same or make a donation to help the Power of Pain Foundation continue our education, awareness and access to care programs.

We are asking participants to text, post or say something similar to, “I have the NERVE to be HEARD!"

We will also be posting educational videos on YouTube and our website. Watching videos and commenting on them gives participants more ways to win great prizes. For #PaintTheWorldOrange, we ask participants to post their #NERVEmber pictures on social media and to share your pics as you #PaintTheWorldOrange. Be sure to hashtag it #NERVEmber #PaintTheWorldOrange to increase awareness and your chances to win POP prizes.

Participants are also invited to create graphics of their own using #NERVEmber and #PaintTheWorldOrange. Don’t forget to WEAR ORANGE all month long! You can upload your orange photos to help us paint the world.

Tens of thousands have participated in past years from around the world and we are expecting even more this year. Don’t miss out on being part of a movement to make a difference.

For more information on NERVEmber visit http://powerofpain.org/nervember

Barby Ingle suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and endometriosis. Barby is a chronic pain educator, patient advocate, and president of the Power of Pain Foundation. She is also a motivational speaker and best-selling author on pain topics.

More information about Barby can be found at her website.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.