According to a CDC report, an estimated 20% of U.S. adults had chronic pain in 2016 and 8% experienced high-impact chronic pain. The impact on society is widespread, with numerous studies linking chronic pain to healthcare costs and lost productivity. Yet despite the sometimes-crippling impact of pain on individuals and their communities, funding for pain research has been historically limited.
With clear and growing evidence of the global prevalence and burden of pain, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and its members recognized an opportunity to improve how pain is assessed and, ultimately, reduced. In 2012, the IASP Task Force for the Classification of Chronic Pain developed a new classification that defines seven categories of chronic pain. The new classification and formal recognition of chronic pain as a stand-alone disease provides doctors and patients with the information necessary to proactively treat and potentially offset long-term costs – leading to better care around the world.
If pain is better recognized as a disease state among healthcare systems, our members will have better data to advance research to better understand the true magnitude of the problem and consequently to improve the provision of advanced treatment options.
– IASP–WHO Liaison, Professor Rolf-Detlef Treede, Chair of Neurophysiology, Centre for Biomedicine and Medical Technology, Mannheim, Heidelberg University.
Did you know?
An estimated 20% of U.S. adults had chronic pain in 2016.
Participating Organizations
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)
