WEB DESK, July 3(ABC): Persistent headaches and back pain. Achy bones, especially feet and hands. Gnawing, cramping guts. Whole-body soreness. So many people live with various flavors of chronic pain, and often go months or years without finding relief.
Some 20 percent of Americans are affected by chronic pain, according to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) — making it one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care. Chronic pain can be caused by ailments like fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases, or it can spring from stubbornly lingering injuries. Left untreated, pain can limit mobility, curb daily activities, and lessen quality of life — often leading to anxiety and depression.
Chronic pain is different from its cousin, acute pain.
Once the immediate and intense period has passed — generally said to be roughly three to six months — pain that continues is a burden, increasingly viewed as a disease in and of itself.
For years, the quest to battle chronic pain led doctors to prescribe opioid medications, although the drugs proved to be addictive, which is why prescriptions for opioids are now declining. That drastic decrease, though, left many so-called “legacy” chronic pain patients without the medications they had come to depend on, sometimes leading to terrible consequences. The CDC acknowledged as much in February 2022, when it released a draft of new, more nuanced guidelines for dispensing opioids, including the removal of controversial dose ceilings.