Treatment Woes Highlighted by Long-Term Suffering, Search for Relief More
than four out of every 10 people with moderate to severe chronic pain have
yet to find adequate relief, saying their pain is out of control, according
to a new survey released today by the American Pain Society, the American
Academy of Pain Medicine and Janssen Pharmaceutical. The survey of 805
individuals also revealed a population of sufferers who often don't receive
the type of care experts consider necessary -- despite the fact that nearly
half have switched physicians at least once and more than 50 percent have
been in pain for more than five years.
"Many Americans with chronic pain are suffering too much for too long and
need more aggressive treatment," says Russell Portenoy, MD, president of the
American Pain Society and chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and
Palliative Care at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "This
survey suggests that there are millions of people living with severe
uncontrolled pain. This is a great tragedy. Although not everyone can be
helped, it is very likely that most of these patients could benefit if
provided with state-of-the-art therapies and improved access to pain
specialists when needed."
The survey was conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide and sponsored by Janssen
Pharmaceutical, a developer of pain treatments, the American Pain Society and
the American Academy of Pain Medicine. All individuals surveyed had
experienced pain for at least six months, and described their pain as being a
5 or higher on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being "the worst pain imaginable."
The source of their pain was fairly evenly split between arthritis, back
disorders and other causes. (Individuals with cancer were specifically
excluded from the survey, since there is a large body of knowledge about
these individuals, and aggressive pain treatment for persons with terminal
illness is generally well accepted.)
A majority of all survey respondents reported some difficulty doing such
basic activities as sleeping, doing chores at home and walking. These
problems are accentuated among those whose pain is very severe (8, 9 or 10 on
the pain scale) -- of whom nearly one in five had been forced to visit an
emergency room at least once in the past year due to their pain.
Search for a Physician Who Will Help
In their quest for pain relief, almost half (47 percent) of all chronic-pain
sufferers surveyed had changed doctors at least once. Among those with very
severe pain, almost a third (29 percent) had switched physicians three or
more times. The most common reasons for the decision to search for a new
doctor were "too much pain" (42%), the perception that their last physician
did not know a lot about pain treatment (31%), the belief that their doctor
didn't take their pain seriously enough (29%) and the physician's
unwillingness to treat their pain aggressively (27%).
Dr. Portenoy also emphasized that medication is only one of many strategies
that can be used to treat pain and the disability that may accompany it.
Both drug therapy and non-drug approaches may be needed concurrently.
The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) was founded in 1983 as the
American Academy of Algology. Through the years, AAPM has evolved as the
primary organization for physicians practicing the specialty of pain medicine
in the United States.
The American Pain Society is a multidisciplinary educational and scientific
organization dedicated to serving people in pain. The society was founded in
1978 as a national chapter of the International Association for the Study of
Pain (IASP), and now includes nearly 4,000 physicians, nurses, psychologists,
dentists, scientists, pharmacologists, therapists and social workers who
conduct research and treat pain, as well as advocate for patients with pain.
RESOURCE: American Pain Society, PRNEWSWIRE
Additional Resources: Pain-Free
Arthritis, McIlwain, Bruce, Henry
Holt & Co.
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