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why talk about pain

Why Talk about Pain?

A Survey on Chronic Pain Management

In May 2008, a new online survey of American patients who suffer from chronic pain and the physicians who treat pain showed that approximately 60 percent of patients strongly agreed that they can be open and honest about their pain with their physician. On the other hand, less than 10 percent of physicians strongly agreed that their patients tell them the truth about their pain. This gap exposed the need for more understanding and communication about pain between the two groups.

Commissioned by the Let's Talk Pain Coalition, the survey was conducted with 500 chronic pain patients and 275 physicians that treat pain, including primary care physicians, oncologists, pain specialists, neurologists, rheumatologists, surgeons, and psychiatrists. Findings from the survey provided valuable insight into the attitudes and behaviors of pain patients and healthcare professionals, and demonstrated the impact of various factors on chronic pain management including:

Communication between physicians, patients about pain

  • 97 percent of the physicians surveyed strongly agreed that there was enough time to discuss pain with their patients, yet only 46 percent of patients felt the same way.

How pain affects patients' daily lives

  • Approximately 65 percent of patients living with pain said their pain strongly or completely interferes with their working outside the home, and 75 percent of patients reported that their pain strongly or completely interferes with exercising.
  • While many physicians (75 percent) stated that sexual relations and social activities were least important in selecting their patient's treatment plan, nearly half of the patients (48 percent) reported that pain either strongly or completely interferes with their sexual relations.

The impact of treatment and side effects on pain management

  • Constipation and the occurrence of drowsiness were top sources of dissatisfaction for patients when it came to a primary opioid medication to treat their pain.
  • Of the physicians surveyed, 83 percent believe there is a need for new and innovative pain medications that don't have the side effects of currently available medicines.