Letter to the Editor: September is Pain Awareness Month

Editor's Notes: Karen Kiefer, RN, BAIS, American Pain Foundation Action Network Leader, wants us to know that September is more than school and holidays.  "I am a person with pain as well as a healthcare provider," she notes, and hopes to draw more attention to chronic pain. She offers insights below. 

Pain is a national healthcare crisis. It is our nation's hidden epidemic.

• According to the CDC, more than a quarter of adults, or 26%, report issues with pain that last for more than a day. That translates to approximately 76.5 million Americans, and is more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined
• Undertreated pain has serious physiological, psychological, social, and economic consequences.
• Uncontrolled pain diminishes quality of life. It adversely impacts almost every aspect of a person's life including sleep, work, and relationships with family and friends.
• When pain is treated properly, many people can resume their lives.
• Pain is best managed using a combination of treatment options. These options include medications, psychosocial support, rehabilitative approaches, complementary and alternative medicine, injection/infusion therapies and implantable devices or surgical interventions. This is referred to as a multi-modality approach to pain care.
• However, patient safety remains one of the most pressing health care challenges affecting people with acute and/or chronic pain.
• No single treatment option for pain management is without risk, including the decision not to treat the pain‖ Scott Fishman, MD
• Unfortunately, many barriers including a lack of professional medical training in pain management and social stigma about pain prevent effective pain treatment.
• A national movement is growing to raise awareness about the problems caused by the epidemic of undertreated pain and to transform pain care in America. Join the American Pain Foundation Action Network! We need your help to improve pain care for all. Together we can make a difference!
• The Bottom Line: People in pain have a right to timely, appropriate pain care.

   APF will host a VIRTUAL MARCH on Washington – an online event to unite, empower and rally those who care about people living with pain and be part of making a difference in pain policy and practice. Click here for more information.