About Chronic Pain

Pain is a worldwide problem with serious health and economic consequences. The American Pain Society estimated in 1999 that nine percent of the U.S. adult population suffers from moderate to severe non-cancer related chronic pain. Chronic pain may be defined as pain that lasts beyond the healing of an injury or that persists beyond three months. The most common causes of chronic pain include lower back pain, arthritis, headache, and face and jaw pain. While mild pain does not typically stop an individual from pursuing their daily activities, moderate pain may stop patients from participating in their daily activities and severe pain stops and individual from participating in their daily activities and induces a patient to pain avoidance behaviors.