Learn More About Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts for more than 3 months. High-impact chronic pain is pain that occurs 5 or more days a week for 6 months or more and interferes with your daily living. 

Chronic pain affects 50 million Americans a year

Did you know? 1 out of every 3 women lives with chronic pain

High-impact chronic pain affects 20 million Americans a year — and 11.3 million are women

Chronic pain is a disease. And it doesn’t just hurt your body.

It can keep you from living your fullest life

It can interfere with your sleep

It can cause you to have feelings of anxiety, depression and hopelessness 

Chronic Pain Is Expensive

Chronic pain costs our nation between $560 billion and $635 billion a year in medical costs, lost productivity and disability programs. 

Who does chronic pain affect? 

Anyone can get chronic pain — but some groups are more likely than others to live with this disease.

• Non-Hispanic white adults

• Women  

• Adults 65 and older

• Previously employed but not currently employed adults

• People living in poverty or who use public insurance

• People who live in rural locations

Many people — especially women — with chronic pain have several overlapping pain conditions, such as:

• Fibromyalgia

• Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Osteoarthritis

• Migraine

• Temporomandibular disorders (TMJ/TMD)

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome/Inflammatory Bowel Disease

• Interstitial Cystitis

Treating chronic pain is complex.

Chronic pain is a complicated disease, and what works may vary from person to person. In general, the most effective treatment uses a combination of approaches. 

Nonpharmacological Strategies: neurostimulation, injections

Medication: opioids and nonopioids, medicines that are designed for other purposes but also work for pain

Psychological Support: psychotherapy, support groups

Lifestyle Changes: exercise, weight loss, healthy eating

Natrual/Holistic Medicine: massage, meditation/mindfulness, acupuncture

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Physiatry): braces, orthotics, electrotherapy

The Biopsychosocial Model

Biological 

Psychological

Social

Biological, psychological and social factors play a role in chronic pain. For example, a woman with no history of mental illness (psychological) and a strong support network (social) might find her chronic migraine (biological) more bearable than a woman with the same  condition (biological) who lives with depression (psychological) and feels isolated (social).. 

Looking at the whole picture and treating a patient from the biopsychosocial lens can lead to better outcomes in patients.

Survey Says:

HealthyWomen surveyed 1,000 women who live with chronic pain.

38% say they do not have access to enough information about pain

65% feel they would benefit from adequately trained healthcare providers 

58% would like more support from their healthcare provider 

This resource was created with support from Pfizer.