- According to the CDC, nearly one in four Americans will experience chronic pain, severely impacting their ability to work or participate in daily activities.
- Americans spend approximately $380 billion on low back and neck pain, the highest expenditure of any health condition. (JAMA – March 2020) Total health care spending increased from $1.4 trillion in 1996 to $3.1 trillion in 2016.
- According to the National Health Interview Survey, the percentage of people with chronic pain went from 20.5% in 2019 to 24.3% in 2023 (National Center for Health Statistics).
- Disability from low back pain is highest in working age groups worldwide, and is now the number one cause of disability globally (Lancet, 2018).
- Although imaging is not encouraged, 54% of patients are referred for imaging by general practitioners.
- The national cost of pain ranges from $560-635 BILLION, which is greater than the costs of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes (Journal of Pain, 2012).
- Adults with pain report missing more days of work than adults without pain (Journal of Pain, 2012).
2006 Voices of Chronic Pain
This survey of chronic pain sufferers who take opioids was conducted in 2006 for the American Pain Foundation
Control Over Chronic Pain
- More than half of respondents (51%) felt they had little or no control over their pain.
- Six out of ten patients (60%) said they experience breakthrough pain one or more times daily, severely impacting their quality of life and overall well-being.
Impact on Quality of Life
- Almost two-thirds (59%) reported an impact on their overall enjoyment of life.
- More than three quarters of patients (77%) reported feeling depressed.
- 70% said they have trouble concentrating.
- 74% said their energy level is impacted by their pain.
- 86% reported an inability to sleep well.
Impact on Day-to-Day Life
- More than half (52%) said their chronic pain has put a strain on relationships with family and friends.
- Nearly 70% said their pain has a great deal of impact on their work.
- 50% have lost a job due to their chronic pain.
- More than a quarter (27%) said chronic pain impacts their ability to drive a car.
This survey was conducted by ABC News, USA Today and the Stanford University Medical Center (2005):
Key Findings
- Excluding minor annoyances, just under half of adults have experienced pain the last two weeks, and nearly four in 10 do so on a regular basis.
- Six in 10 Americans rate their last experience with pain as moderate or worse, and for about two in 10 – about 40 million individuals – it was severe.
- Nineteen percent suffer chronic pain, meaning ongoing pain that’s lasted three months
or more - About four in 10 Americans say pain interferes with their mood, activities, sleep, ability to
work or enjoyment of life. - Sixty-three percent of Americans have spoken with a doctor or other medical professional about their pain. While nine in 10 say their doctor understood the problem, many fewer, 59%, say they got a great deal or good amount of pain relief.
Chronic/Severe Pain
- Problems peak in the chronic, severe and frequent pain populations. People in these high-pain groups are vastly more likely than others to report negative impacts of pain on their lives, and much less likely to feel in control of their pain. (These hold true even when controlled for age.)
WHERE IT HURTS
- A quarter of Americans say their last pain experience was with back pain, making it far and away the leading area of pain, followed by pain in the knee (12%), headaches or migraine (9%), and shoulder and leg pain (7% each.) Together these account for 60 % of all pain by location.
- Back pain is No. 1 across most demographic groups, with the notable exception of women under age 50. It peaks among men (30% say their last pain experience was back pain, compared with 20% of women), and particularly among men age 30-49, who may run the dual risk of being a bit older but still quite active. Back pain is the most-cited pain across all pain groups, peaking slightly among chronic pain sufferers.