Episode 2: Persistent pain is common
Hi, Welcome to Episode 2 of the Flippin’ Pain Formula podcast.
The key message of this session is that persistent pain, also known as chronic or long-term pain, is common and can affect anyone.
When you have persistent pain, it is easy to think that you are alone, but you are not alone. Do you know how many people in the UK have persistent pain? Have a guess.
Persistent pain, which is the name given to pain that has lasted for more than 3 months, and often much longer than that, is very common and estimated to affect about 28 million people in the UK.
Next time you are in a queue at the supermarket, take a look at the people around you. About 30% to 50% of people in the UK are living with persistent pain. Persistent pain is invisible: it doesn’t require a bandage or a cast and rarely is there anything visually different between someone with persistent pain and someone without it. So even though many people in the queue may share your pain, you can’t tell: so you might feel more alone than ever.
Over the course of our lives, episodes of pain are extremely common. If we use back pain as an example, a whopping 80% to 90% of people will experience a bout of back pain at some point in their life. Bizarrely, you are quite unusual if you have never experienced an episode of back pain. Think of it a bit like the common cold. We all catch it from time to time, and it can really knock you sideways, but it is usually nothing to worry about.
Pain can affect anyone, young and old, large and small, rich and poor: no one is immune to persistent pain. It affects people of different skin colour, ethnicity and religious affiliation. There are some things that can increase the risk of developing persistent pain, such as smoking or having a hereditary condition.
While there are other things that can decrease the risk of developing persistent pain, such as being physically active, this does not mean that people who are physically active don’t develop persistent pain. It just means that on average, fewer people who are active develop persistent pain compared to those who are inactive.
In the UK, persistent pain conditions account for 29% of total disability. To put that in context, strokes account for 2% of disability, while diabetes accounts for 4%. This shows what a big problem persistent pain is in the UK.
Many of the people we speak to say that pain makes them feel isolated. Would you agree? Are there any other words you can write down that describe how you feel? Persistent pain can be an isolating condition, and it is easy to think that you are the only one going through it and that no one else understands. But, in reality, you are one of the 28 million UK citizens living with persistent pain. Knowing you are one of the many and not one of the few, can help to remind you that you are not alone.
As we come to the end of this session, I want to leave you with the key message from this part of the podcast: persistent pain is common and can affect anyone.
30% to 50% of people in the UK live with persistent pain. Whilst certain things may increase the chances of developing persistent pain, it can affect anyone. You are not alone in living with pain.
Well done: you have made it to the end of Episode 2 of the Flippin’ Pain Formula podcast. Now please proceed to Episode 3 where things really start to get interesting. Thanks for listening!