HOW BAD IS CHRONIC PAIN??

Here are a few startling statistics from the world of science.

  1. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide experience chronic pain.

2.  More Americans are affected by chronic pain than by diabetes , heart disease and cancer    combined.

3. Chronic non-cancer pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

Unfortunately, I am not surprised. Based on my 30+ years of helping people with chronic pain,  I have seen first-hand just how devastating this problem can be.

If you want to read more about these scientific findings, check out the following references:

Pfeifer, GM, Transforming pain care: an IOM report. American Journal of Nursing, 2011, 111:18

Global Burden of Burden of Disease Study 2013 Collaborators. Global, regional and national incidence, prevalence and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis of the  Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet, 2015, 386: 743-800.

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Thank you for reading. Thank you to Max DeRochelle (photo above) and Rachel Walker (image below), both from Unsplash, for your creative work. And, please feel free to steal, share or join our growing list of subscribers.

Mike