It's a shocking statistic.  More than 50 million Americans suffer chronic pain severe enough to interfere with their performance of daily activities.  That means they are either partially or completely disabled.

Pain comes in many forms and the terms patients use to describe pain are often different because it is subjective.  No two people experience pain alike.  It can range from mild and tolerable to severe and intolerable.  It can be sharp or aching, throbbing or burning.

Chronic pain is continuous pain that persists for more than 3 months, and beyond the time of normal healing. It can last for months or years – and, as horrible as it sounds, even for a lifetime.  It can interfere with an individual's sleep, productivity, and quality of life. 

The cause of chronic pain can be the result of an initial acute injury, such as a sprain, or disease such as a serious infection.  It can occur as a consequence of a chronic condition, like arthritis. However, a cause is not always evident. 

Although most pain can be relieved or greatly eased with proper pain management, most pain goes untreated, under treated, or improperly treated.  In fact, only an estimated 1 in 4 of those with chronic pain receive proper treatment meaning millions of people suffer needlessly, unaware of effective pain management options.
People with chronic pain can be helped, and while the issue hasn't received the attention it deserves in the past, the environment is changing.  A U.S. government Congressional Mandate has declared 2000 - 2010 as the Decade of Pain Control and Research.  Many health care professionals are now recognizing that pain is complex and multidimensional and that patients with chronic pain require careful evaluation and a varied treatment strategy.