It is estimated that around one in five Australians have persistent pain. This week is National Pain Week where we recognise and attempt to understand the impact that persistent pain has on the lives of Queenslanders.
Chronic Pain Australia oversee National Pain Week. CPA is a group of passionate volunteers including people with persistent pain, health professionals and researchers whose mission is to reduce the unnecessary suffering and isolation caused by persistent pain in the Australian community. The theme for this year’s National Pain Week is Nothing about us, without us which highlights the importance of including the person with persistent pain.
In recognition of Pain Week we will feature several blogs; each focusing on different aspects of pain and its management. In today's blog, Prue Butler, Physiotherapist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and member of our Statewide Persistent Pain Management Clinical Network shares some 'painful' facts.
- Persistent* pain is estimated to cost the Australian economy $34.3 billion dollars each year which equates to $11,000 for each person with persistent pain. This is the third most costly health condition after cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal conditions.
- One in five GP consultations involves a patient with persistent pain and almost five per cent report severe, disabling persistent pain.
- Pain is the most common reason people seek medical help, yet it remains one of the most neglected and misunderstood areas of healthcare.
- Productivity costs associated with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions alone were estimated to cost the economy more than $7.4 billion dollars in 2012.
- One in five Australian adults with severe or very severe pain also suffer depression or other mood disorders.
- Pharmaceutical opioid deaths are now around 2.5 times more common than heroin deaths — the reverse of what was seen in the 1990s. Opioid prescription is higher in regional areas where people have less access to persistent pain clinics.
For more information on persistent pain in Queensland, visit the network’s website.
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*Is it chronic pain or persistent pain? These terms can be used interchangeably however you will probably see ‘persistent’ used more often as it is more associated with potential recovery than ‘chronic’.
