Yesterday, the NIH announced a new analysis of data that examined how much pain people in America suffer. The findings, published in The Journal of Pain, were based on data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual survey that asks a random sample of U.S. residents a wide variety of questions about their health.
The survey results are staggering: More than half of the adults in the country (126 million) had some kind of pain, minor to severe, in the three months before the survey. About 25 million had pain every day for that time frame and about 40 million suffer from severe pain. Those with the worst pain were also most likely to have worse health in general, use more health services and have more disabilities.
The survey also looked at complementary medicine approaches people take to dealing with their pain. Natural dietary supplements topped the list, followed by deep breathing and physical exercise such as yoga, tai chi or qi gong.
Joseph Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health was quoted in an article about the new study in the Washington Post:
The number of people who suffer from severe and lasting pain is striking. . . This analysis adds valuable new scope to our understanding of pain ... It may help shape future research, development and targeting of effective pain interventions, including complementary health approaches.
Another topic the WaPo article touched on, which we’ve written about here at Scope, is the link between chronic pain and prescription painkiller abuse:
The prevalence of chronic pain in America also lies at the root of an ongoing epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse. Since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the amount of painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone sold in the United States has nearly quadrupled.
Here at Stanford, the Division of Pain Medicine is sponsoring a free back pain education day on Saturday September 13. You can find out more details here.
Previously: Assessing the opioid overdose epidemic, Chronic pain: Getting your head around it, Finding relief from lower back pain and Stanford researchers address the complexities of chronic pain
Photo by Steven Depolo
