Chronic pain treatment options
A large number of people are facing chronic pains worldwide, finding no lasting relief from it. Ongoing pain, that lasts usually more than six months, can continue even after the treatment and healing of an injury or illness that caused the pain. Inflammation or dysfunctional nerves can cause the acute pain that remains from weeks to years. Further, treatments of sever chronic pains include medication, acupuncture, electrical stimulation, cognitive behavioral therapy and surgery.
People suffer chronic pain worldwide
Many people suffering with the acute pain don’t find relief even after its long and varied treatments. At times, people even say that due to aging, elderly people cannot find an escape from certain pains. But maybe there is a way, and not many people know about that. Findings of a study may give a sigh of relief to people who are forced to believe that they have to life with body pains forever. A mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course was beneficial for patients having chronic pain and depression.
The participant perceptions of pain, mood and financial capacity saw a significant change after the course, said the study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. As many as 89% respondents reported that the program was helpful in finding ways to cope with their pain easily, while 11% gave neutral response. The findings are based on a small-scale study conducted on population of semi-rural area of Oregon that faces common issues like affordability, addiction and access to care.
Chronic pain treatment options
The eight-week-long course comprises intensive instruction in mindfulness meditation and mindful hatha yoga for the participants. Many people have no hope that chronic pain can go away forever, says Osteopathic Physician Cynthia Marske. However, mindful yoga and meditation process leads to improvement in the structure and function of the body, resulting in the process of healing, she added. Emphasizing on healing process, she noted, healing is inherently different from curing that means elimination of disease. While, healing implies that you learn and live with a level of pain, she explains.
Chronic pain and depression often go hand-in-hand, says Dr Marske. Mindfulness-based meditation and yoga can be a big help in restoring patient’s mental and physical health. Moreover, the process can efficiently work alone or in combination with other treatments like therapy and medication, she asserts. As the patients look towards new paths to cope with chronic pain, they can go for these efficient non-pharmaceutical treatments. Patients of chronic pain can take help of meditation and yoga options to get the best relief, suggests Dr Marske.
Chronic pain treatment facts and figures
A common and serious medical condition, chronic pain has affected nearly 100 million people in United States, costing around $635 billion. According to experts, at least 10 percent of the world’s population suffers from chronic pain. An additional one in 10 people in the world develops chronic pain each year. Furthermore, that means, currently, over 600 million people are suffering from chronic pain worldwide, costing around $3,810 billion. Let’s check here some striking social, economic, gender, demographic, individual and other factors related to chronic pain revealed by different studies:
- Chronic pain correlates with a number of physical and mental conditions.
- The prevalence of chronic pain can range from 11% to 40%.
- The health care cost for patients is very high, while chronic pain leads to lost productivity.
- The sufferers live a worse quality of life due to chronic pain.
- Chronic pain is an economic burden for individuals and health care systems both.
- People who live in adverse socioeconomic conditions are likely to face more chronic pain with greater pain severity.
- An estimated 20.4% of US adults suffer from chronic pain, while 8.0% of those suffering from high-impact chronic pain.
- The major sufferers in US are adults living in poverty, with under high school education, and having public health insurance.
- Adult females are more likely to develop chronic pain along with facing lower pain thersholds and tolerance.
- Pain periods are more frequent and longer in duration in women than men.
- No clear relationship occurred between age and chronic pain conditions, but generally, older age is higher prevalent of chronic pain.
- There are other individual factors playing a role in development of chronic pain conditions in people.
Chronic pain related individual factors
- Occupational factors – high job demands, job insecurity, job dissatisfaction, sedentary work position, less social support at workplace, and full-body vibration
- Lifestyle factors – smoking, obesity, and poor health status
- Psycho-social factors – pain prevalence thoughts, stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and chronic health issues
