It can be no surprise that chronic pain can damage your mental health and affect your ability to hold down a job, but what’s often been overlooked is how it also affects those surrounding and supporting sufferers.
This week is National Pain Week and as part of an awareness campaign, Chronic Pain Australia (CPA) has released the National Pain Survey Report 2024. CPA surveyed 2600 people living with chronic pain and found that pain doesn’t just affect the person living with the condition; it affects the entire economy and society.
The survey found nearly half of the respondents had to stop working due to their pain and 30 per cent had to cut their hours back.
CPA said this is of particular concern, because 47 per cent of respondents are in their prime earning years, generally considered to be the years between 25 and 64 years old.
However, it’s not just the financial implications and loss of productivity, according to the survey – it’s also clearly impacting on relationships.
Strain on relationships
Two-thirds of respondents said they felt their condition put a strain on their relationships with family. In some heartbreaking results, more than 60 per cent reported reduced intimacy or a struggle to have sex as a result of their pain. Nearly half struggled to pick up, carry or play with their children.
Another issue complicating the problem is how long it takes for diagnosis and treatment. Forty five per cent of respondents said it took longer than three years to get a diagnosis.
CPA chairperson Nicolette Ellis said the results highlighted that chronic pain doesn’t just affect the sufferer.
“Chronic pain is taking far too long to diagnose, and multidisciplinary pain management, which offers the best hope for controlling this complex condition, remains largely inaccessible,” she said.
“As a result, many respondents to the National Pain Survey have had to stop working or cut back on their hours.
“Losing this income exacerbates the cost of living crisis for households as reduced incomes and increased healthcare costs place further strain on individuals and families.”
The ramifications of the condition are also heartbreaking for the families of people living with chronic pain.
“Many respondents told us that they aren’t able to participate in regular family life, including picking up and playing with their children, as a result of their pain,” Ms Ellis said.
“Relationships with partners and spouses are also suffering, with many struggling to be intimate, and many feeling that their partners and wider families don’t believe them or don’t understand. The toll on communities of this condition are simply immeasurable.
“Without access to patient-centred, multidisciplinary care, people living with chronic pain are at risk of a lifetime of disability that leads to serious mental health issues,” Ms Ellis said.
Vicious cycle
“Chronic pain is a vicious cycle for the 3.6 million Australians living with chronic pain, and a huge drain on society more generally.”
CPA estimates that 3.6 million Australians live with chronic pain and it’s the leading cause of disability in the country.
The organisation estimates the annual cost of chronic pain will rise from $139.3 billion in 2018 to an estimated $215.6 billion by 2050.
Do you suffer from chronic pain? How do you cope? Why not share your experience in the comments section below?
