Imagine pain that doesn’t go away, or that subsides for a few days, weeks or months but then returns. If you can do more than just imagine this condition, you’re probably suffering from chronic pain - and you’re not alone.

Chronic pain is one of the most common reasons people seek health care, and they do it up to five times more frequently than the general population.

How serious is the problem? If the estimates in this study from England are any indication, very serious indeed. A random sample of 5,036 patients (age 25 and older) from 29 general practices completed questionnaires to assess the presence of chronic pain (three months’ duration or more). Response data taken from the questionnaires revealed the widespread, debilitating nature of chronic pain:

• Overall, more than one of every two respondents (50.4%) reported suffering chronic pain.
  
  
• The proportion of respondents complaining of chronic pain increased dramatically with age, from 31.7% in the youngest age group (25-34 years old) to 62% in the oldest age group (75 years and older).
  
  
• 17.2% reported no need to use health care services for their pain, but 28% reported the highest need for such services.
  
  
• Age, sex, housing tenure, and employment status were identified as potential contributors to chronic pain.
  

If aches and pains are a daily or near-daily occurrence in your life, it’s high time you sought the services of your local doctor of chiropractic! If you’d like more information on finding a chiropractor near you, go to http://www.chiroweb.com/cgi-bin/locator.

Reference:

Elliott AM, Smith BH, Penny KI, et al. The epidemiology of chronic pain in the community. Lancet 1999: Vol. 354, pp1248-52.