Pain Awareness Month 2024

CHANGING THE PAIN EQUATION.

During Pain Awareness Month, the U.S. Pain Foundation aims to explore the full extent of pain, highlight the necessity for better data, and raise awareness about pain research and its impact on the 51.6 million Americans living with chronic pain.

The initiative, #SolvePainTogether, will explore the full experience of chronic pain, from diagnosis to building a treatment plan to discovering who you are as a person with pain and learning to advocate for yourself. Then we’ll look at how to solve pain together, as individuals with pain, health care providers, researchers, and lawmakers. To change the pain equation, we need to start by analyzing the data and investing in more research to drive better outcomes.

We are honored to be collaborating with the National Institutes of Health on a webinar, and the Humana Neighborhood Centers on a 4-week virtual Pain Series and weekly Health Hack events. Each day, we will post insights and statistics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will also publish one article a week that focuses on different aspects of how to solve pain together — through understanding data to building a pain management plan to seeking support and advocating for yourself.

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

#SOLVEPAINTOGETHER EVENTS

Webinar with NIH Heal Initiative®

Identifying Predictors of Chronic Pain: How the NIH HEAL Initiative® is Changing the Pain Research Landscape

The NIH HEAL Initiative® and U.S. Pain Foundation co-hosted a webinar featuring Dr. Laura Simons from Stanford, who discussed the SPRINT study on biomarkers predicting chronic musculoskeletal pain. Ashley McDonnell, a participant with chronic pain, shared her experience. Dr. Linda Porter, Director of the Office of Pain Policy and Planning at NINDS, provided an overview of NIH HEAL and highlighted the significance of identifying reliable chronic pain biomarkers.

Health hack RECORDINGS

The U.S. Pain Foundation collaborated with the Humana Neighborhood Centers to create Health Hack recordings, which are short videos focusing on different aspects of living with chronic pain. Each week during Pain Awareness Month, a new video was released. We invite you to watch and share these recordings.

Watch the Health Hack video, Understanding Life with Chronic Pain: Pain by the Numbers.

Watch the Health Hack video, The Importance of a Personalized Pain Management Plan: A Comprehensive Guide.

Watch the video, Mind Matters: The Importance of Addressing Mental Health in Pain Management.

Watch the video, Effective Communication Is Key: 7 Tips for Discussing Chronic Pain with Your Doctor.

How to Recognize and Address Caregiver Burnout — Coming September 30 (Register to watch the release live by clicking here.)

Articles

Empowered Patients, Better Outcomes: Cultivating Strong Provider Relationships

There are MANY easy ways you can help create awareness about ways to #SolvePainTogether this September, such as:

Download our free Pain Awareness Month frame for your social media profile picture.
Like, comment, and share/retweet our daily posts on social media.
Use the hashtags #SolvePainTogether and #ChangingThePainEquation in all your social media posts in September.
Register and attend our webinars.
Read and share each weekly article.
Register and join our five Health Hack events, and reshare the videos.
RSVP to join a waitlist for the 4-week virtual Living Well With Chronic Pain series through our collaboration with the Humana Neighborhood Centers

#SolvePainTogether

We want #SolvePainTogether to goes viral. To do that, we need your help! Share this graphic on social media with your own story about why it’s so important to work together to solve pain, using the #SolvePainTogether and #ChangingThePainEquation hashtags.

Change Your Frame

An easy way to amplify support for a cause is with your social media profile picture. Join us in changing the frame around your profile pics to inform the public about chronic pain and how we must #SolvePainTogether. Then, encourage your friends and family to do the same!

4-WEEK PAIN SERIES

Humana Neighborhood Centers, in collaboration with U.S. Pain, has developed a free, live virtual **4-week series called “Living Well With Chronic Pain.“** Each week, a new two-hour session will be offered, focusing on different aspects of pain management, including understanding pain, treatment options, mental health, and how to advocate for yourself.

This free 4-week series is open to everyone, so you don’t need to be a Humana member to attend. RSVP to join the waitlist or be invited to attend this series in the future. soon! Join the waitlist today.

RESOURCES

Curious about the latest statistics, trends, and insights on chronic pain? Explore our updated 2024 Chronic Pain Fact Sheet for all the essential data.

Download the 2024 Chronic Pain Fact Sheet.

IN THE NEWS

Read U.S. Pain Foundation’s press release announcing its 2024 Pain Awareness Month theme, #SolvePainTogether.
#SolvePainTogether Pain Awareness Month Initiative Explores Full Experience of Chronic Pain | PR Newswire, September 3, 2024
Exploring the complexities of pain management and treatment options | KRCG, September 24, 2024

Sources for Social Media Stats and Facts

Stat: Children and older patients, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color more frequently encounter medical professionals that underestimate or discredit their chronic pain experience. (Source)

Stat: 63% of survey respondents said they felt stigmatized by their medical providers. (Source)

Stat: One study found that shared decision-making improves both patients’ and providers’ views on their interactions and health outcomes. (Source)

Stat: Treating low back pain and mental health simultaneously led to improvements in both pain and mood. (Source)

Stat: Among individuals living with chronic pain, more than 42% of them also have symptoms of depression. (Source)

Stat: The National Institutes of Health dedicates approximately 4% of its funding to chronic pain and pain research (chronic, acute, and acute-to-chronic pain). (Source 1) (Source 2) (Source 3)

Stat: In U.S. Pain’s “A Chronic Pain Crisis” survey, nearly a third of participants listed “coverage of integrated, multidisciplinary pain care, including complementary treatments such as massage and acupuncture” as a top policy priority. (Source)

Stat: 3/4 survey respondents listed activity modification as top pain management strategy (Source)

Stat: 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, according to the National Institutes of Health. (Source)

Stat: The burden of high-impact chronic pain is so severe that it leaves more than 14 million Americans unable to work. The consequences of this are detrimental — on individuals’ quality of life and mental health, and on the nation’s economy.

Number with high-impact chronic pain: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm

Percent with high-impact chronic pain unable to work: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/research-results/prevalence-and-profile-of-high-impact-chronic-pain

Treatment

Advocacy & awareness

State & federal advocacy

Support & empowerment

Education

For Clinicians