Pain Awareness Month 2023

RESEARCH PAIN. MANAGE PAIN.

The U.S. Pain Foundation seeks to raise awareness about pain research and its impact on the more than 51.6 million Americans living with chronic pain during Pain Awareness Month.

The initiative, #PainTrials, will break down pain research and show the real-life impact research has on individuals living with pain. We are honored to be collaborating with the National Institutes of Health on a variety of initiatives throughout the month, with NIH participation in our webinars, articles, support group meetings, and more. Each day, we will share a pain research statistic on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, along with one article a week that focuses on different aspects of research. We will also host three webinars bringing together prominent NIH researchers and clinical trial experts, in addition to offering special support group opportunities to learn more about local research efforts near you. In addition, we have Health Hack events and in-person patient education days planned in collaboration with the Humana Neighborhood Center.

On this page, you’ll find all the information you need to become involved this Pain Awareness Month with #PainTrials.

A new Resource for you

Want to learn more about the different types of clinical trials, the process of enrolling, and questions you should consider before signing up?

Check out our resource to get your questions answered.

Articles

Predicting and Preventing Acute-to-Chronic Pain: Research with Far-Reaching Effects

Sep 25, 2023

Usually, when an injury causes pain, the sensation is only temporary. You twist your ankle, it’s sore for a few days, then eventually the swelling goes down and you can walk normally again. But in some cases, that doesn’t happen, and an acute...

Clinical Trials: A Way for Patients to Contribute to Pain Research

Sep 18, 2023

Clinical trials offer concrete mechanisms for individuals living with pain to contribute to the landscape of pain research — they're one of the most significant ways patients can play a role in creating hope for future pain relief. But what exactly...

How the NIH HEAL Initiative is addressing unmet needs of people with chronic pain

Sep 11, 2023

While chronic pain is a very individual problem, it also costs society at large so much: lost hours in productivity, wasted dollars on ineffective treatments, strain on the health care and insurance systems, and the collective impact on people...

From Lab to Real World: The Steps to Creating New Pain Treatments

Sep 5, 2023

Chronic pain affects more than 1 in 5 Americans, impacting their physical, emotional, and overall well-being, yet there have been few truly new treatment options in years. Still, various types of research are underway to find new medications and...

Research Pain to Manage Pain

Aug 31, 2023

The need for more pain management options has perhaps never been greater or more urgent—with more than 51.6 million Americans living with chronic pain and 17.1 million experiencing high-impact chronic pain. Yet despite the enormous disease burden...

The Impact of Pain in America

Aug 25, 2023

The latest population health data findings from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) reiterate an often-overlooked fact: millions of Americans are living with daily pain. Almost 21% of the U.S. population—51.6 million adults—lives...

RE-WATCH PRIOR WEBINARS

Chronic Pain and Research: How NIH is committed to finding better treatments for people with pain

Pediatric Clinical Trials 101: What they are and how to participate

Turning Lemons Into Lemonade: Building resilience despite chronic pain

View Dr. Hassett’s slides here.

IN-PERSON EVENTS

As part of our collaboration with the Humana Neighborhood Center this month, U.S. Pain hosted two pain education sessions at Humana’s Las Vegas locations of Henderson and Summerlin. We would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to David Nagel, MD, for speaking to individuals about integrative solutions to manage pain. In addition, U.S. Pain appreciates Ryan and Ada, the Health Educators at these locations.

RE-WATCH HEALTH HACK EVENTS

Did you miss one of our Health Hack events this Pain Awareness Month? Did you watch a previous Health Hack event and wish to view it again or share with others? Well, you are in luck!

Below you will find links to those recordings.

We were excited to collaborate with the Humana Neighborhood Center this Pain Awareness Month. The Humana Neighborhood Center, the website as well as the physical locations, are open to anyone — meaning you do not need to be a Humana member to access their resources, location sites, or information.

During September, we developed four Health Hack events, short videos that tackled a different component of pain. Re-watch the recordings below! (Please note: you do not need to be a Humana member to access these resources; you just need to create a free account.)

The Tie Between Physical Pain and Mental Health

What Is Chronic Pain?

How To Be Your Own Health Advocate

What Is Acute Pain?

The Tie Between Physical Pain and Mental Health

PAST PEER-TO-PEER GROUPS INCORPORATING RESEARCHERS

In collaboration with the NIH HEAL Initiative, Rebecca G. Baker, PhD, HEAL Director, in the Office of the Director, NIH, joined several of our online state-based support groups with a local NIH researcher. The goal: to share an overview of HEAL’s efforts and learn about local research projects.

Massachusetts

NIH HEAL Director Rebecca G. Baker, PhD, and NIH researcher Natalia Morone, MD, MS, from Boston Medical Center, joined our Massachusetts peer-to-peer group. They talked about the efforts of HEAL to address the unmet needs of chronic pain as well as current research on group-based mindfulness for chronic low back pain.

California

NIH HEAL Director Rebecca G. Baker, PhD, NIH researchers Lynn DeBar, PhD, MPH, Andy Avins, MD, MPH, and Alice Pressman, PhD, MS, and licensed acupuncturist, Meg McDowell, joined our California peer-to-peer group. They talked about the efforts of HEAL to adress the unmet needs of chronic pain as well as research examining the use of acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults.

New York-New Jersey-Connecticut

Linda Porter, PhD, Director, Office of Pain Policy and Planning, and NIH researcher Jessica Robinson-Papp, MD, MS, joined our New York-New Jersey-Connecticut peer-to-peer group. They talked about the efforts of HEAL as well as sharing information about a pain clinical trials network called EPPIC-Net.

IN THE NEWS

#PainTrials Initiative Seeks To Raise Awareness About The Need For Pain Research – Read press release

The US Pain Foundation Launches New Awareness Initiative – Applied Clinical Trials, September 8

Understanding pain is difficult, since it’s hard to put into words – Hemophilia News Today, September 13

Pain points: Unsolved recruitment and trial design issues in pain clinical trials – Clinical Trials Arena, September 21

The Chronic Pain that Nobody Talks About – Health Policy Today, September 21

Daily Stats and Facts

Stat: The NIH HEAL Initiative Translating Discoveries into Effective Devices to Treat Pain program is exploring new technology and devices that can effectively treat chronic pain. (Source)

Stat: 45 million Americans use CBD products, often to treat pain or other medical conditions. (Source)

Stat: As of August 2023, there were 187 clinical trials focused on pediatric pain taking place in the United States. The most common conditions being studied are chronic pain, postoperative pain, and migraine. (Source)

Stat: 81% of physicians are reluctant to see a patient who uses opioids to manage pain, according to a 2019 survey. (Source)

Stat: An NIH-funded study that is focusing initially on diabetic neuropathy is exploring new ways to manage neuropathic pain by examining hyperactive nerve cells at the molecular level. Up to 10% of Americans live with neuropathic pain. (Source)

Stat: Between 28 percent and 61 percent of people develop chronic pain after they experience acute pain from certain types of injuries or surgery. (Source)

Stat: The NIH Pain Consortium was established to enhance pain research and promote collaboration among researchers across the many NIH Institutes and Centers that have programs and activities addressing pain. (Source)

Stat: Clinical studies have shown that the stress from chronic pain often causes depression, and up to 85% of people living with chronic pain are affected by severe depression. (Source)

Stat: By measuring pain levels, sleep, mental health, the effects of pain stimuli, brain imaging blood tests, and more in 2,800 post-surgical patients, the Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) program will identify markers or “signatures” in people at risk of having acute pain transition to chronic pain. This could transform how we currently treat patients with acute pain and how we approach prevention of chronic pain. (Source)

Stat: Several NIH HEAL Initiative studies are exploring complementary and integrative solutions for sickle cell pain, particularly pain crises, including acupuncture and guided relaxation. (Source)

Stat: As of August 2023, there were 71 clinical trials focused on acute pain taking place in the United States. (Source)

Stat: Translational Pain Research covers the progress made toward bringing laboratory science (much of it at the molecular level) to our understanding of pain phenomena in humans, with the ultimate goal of reducing the suffering that often accompanies pain and its indirect consequences. (Source)

Stat: People with incomes below poverty level have a higher likelihood (150% or more) of reporting low back pain, neck pain, and severe headache. (Source)

Stat: In 2018, a systematic review found the median number of hours of pain medicine content in U.S. medical schools to be 11 hours, the least of any industrialized country. (Source)

Stat: The NIH HEAL Initiative supports research to ensure that safe and effective pain management therapies are available to all patients, including populations experiencing health disparities. (Source)

Stat: Chronic pain or pain that persists or recurs for longer than three months in children is a significant public health problem and a leading cause of morbidity in children globally. (Source)

Stat: The goal of the Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) program is to develop a set of objective biomarkers that provide “signatures” to predict if chronic pain is likely to develop or be resolved after acute pain, like an injury or after a surgery. (Source)

Stat: As of August 2023, there were 386 clinical trials focused on chronic pain taking place in the United States. (Source)

Stat: The NIH HEAL Initiative has funded $2.5 billion in research and more than 1,000 research projects in all 50 states. HEAL spends several hundred million dollars a year specifically on pain research. (Source)

Stat: About 20% of people affected by acute low back pain develop chronic low back pain with persistent symptoms at one year. (Source)

Stat: When fully implemented, EPPIC-Net, which seeks to accelerate early-phase clinical trials surrounding pain, will conduct studies on a variety of treatments, including drugs and devices, as well as studies to better understand pain. (Source)

Stat: 17.1 million adult Americans live with high-impact chronic pain, or pain that limits daily life or the ability to work most days or every day in the past three months. (Source)

Stat: The NIH HEAL Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network seeks to highlight effective pain management options by conducting studies to better understand the spectrum of pain, from acute pain to chronic pain. (Source)

Stat: Research has found that medical cannabis reduces specific symptoms such as pain or difficulty sleeping, or helps patients lower their use of opioid pain medications. (Source)

Stat: In fully decentralized clinical trials, all assessments and other trial-related activities take place in homes or local health care facilities that are convenient to the participant, relying on elements such as tele-visits or home visits by mobile or local health care providers. (Source)

Stat: A recent study from the National Institutes of Health revealed important information on the incidence and persistence of chronic pain. New cases of chronic pain are occurring at higher rates among U.S. adults compared to new cases of several other common health conditions, including diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure. (Source)

Stat: ClinicalTrials.gov offers information about clinical studies taking place in all 50 states and over 200 countries. (Source)

Stat: The NIH HEAL Initiative supports both new clinical trials and the expansion of existing programs to help establish evidence-based guidelines for treating pain with non-opioid therapies. (Source)

Stat: There is a higher prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native adults, adults identifying as bisexual, rural residents, individuals living in poverty, and adults who have been divorced or separated. (Source)

Stat: 51.6 million adult Americans experience chronic pain. (Source)

VIEW PAST CAMPAIGNS

Want to view the 2022 Pain Awareness Month campaign, #LifeWithPain? Click here.

Want to view the 2021 Pain Awareness Month campaign, #PainCounts? Click here.

Our 2023 Pain Awareness Month campaign is made possible through the contribution of our sponsors, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Lilly.

Thank you for recognizing the importance of pain research and its potential to improve the future of millions of people living with chronic pain.

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