Unravelling the enigma of chronic pain and its treatment
By Mark Johnson
The prevalence of chronic pain in the general adult population worldwide may be as high as 30 per cent. Yet pain is not seen as a major health care problem by politicians, probably because people do not die of pain, although many people die in pain. Chronic pain challenges our traditional beliefs about the process of diagnosis, treatment, and cure, with over 40 per cent of individuals reporting inadequate management of chronic pain.