September is Pain Awareness Month: The National Pain Foundation: My Treatment

September is Pain Awareness Month

As part of the Partners for Understanding Pain coalition, The National Pain Foundation is celebrating pain awareness this month. Pain touches each of us at one time or another, yet as common as pain is, the medical community is just beginning to understand and better address the many forms of pain.

We invite you to share information about the issues surrounding chronic pain with those you come in contact with to help increase understanding. Ask your family and friends to visit www.nationalpainfoundation.org to learn more about pain and how it affects every aspect of life. Some important facts about pain that your family and friends may not know include:

Pain has a huge economic impact—Pain is the number one cause of adult disability in the United States, affecting one in three Americans.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, pain costs $100 billion annually in lost workdays, medical expenses and other benefit costs.
Pain has a huge social impact, causing suffering in the family and community that surrounds an individual with unmanaged pain.
There is hope for people with pain—A multidisciplinary approach to pain treatment and management can help people with pain regain greater control of their daily lives.

Partners for Understanding Pain is a consortium of organizations that touch the lives of people with chronic, acute, and cancer pain. It is dedicated to building the understanding and support that can help people with pain lead better lives. This partnership strives to create greater understanding among health care providers, pain patients and families who are struggling with pain management, the business community, legislators, and the general public that pain is a serious public health issue. Visit the Partners for Understanding Pain portal, available on the American Chronic Pain Association's web site at www.theacpa.org.