The U.S. Pain Foundation seeks to raise awareness on the critical issues facing 50 million Americans living with chronic pain this September during Pain Awareness Month. The initiative, #PainCounts, will show the devastating burden of chronic pain and the impact it has on real people. 

While chronic pain affects 20% of the population, research and support for those affected individuals still lag behind. Pain patients face stigmatization and difficulty finding the care they desperately need due to a lack of understanding from the public, the health care system, and insurance providers, along with other impediments.

The U.S. Pain Foundation plans to raise awareness throughout the month by sharing:

• A daily fact on the U.S. Pain Foundation’s social media profiles highlighting how widespread chronic pain is, disparities in pain treatment, the cost of care, the mental and physical toll of chronic pain, and more. 
• A video (seen above) that features facts about pain care and people with chronic pain sharing their stories. 
• Five articles to be published throughout the month on uspainfoundation.org that focus on different aspects of chronic pain awareness and care. 
• An event at the end of the month that brings together experts in the field of pain care and patients to discuss why #PainCounts.

The effort is a collaboration between the U.S. Pain Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides support and advocates for Americans with chronic pain, and Sunbeam®, a leading manufacturer of electric appliances serving home and personal wellness.

“We are incredibly grateful to Sunbeam for sponsoring this important campaign,” said Nicole Hemmenway, CEO of the U.S. Pain Foundation. “Every day we hear from people with chronic pain who are struggling to find the support they need and have desperate questions they need answers to. It’s our hope that by raising awareness and highlighting these critical issues, we can truly make their pain count and spur meaningful change.” 

“Sunbeam is focused not only on developing innovative heated and cold pain relief solutions, but also inspiring people to live life well,” said Lauren Albeck, Brand Marketing Manager, Sunbeam. “Our focus this Pain Awareness Month is all about raising public awareness of the problem of chronic pain and providing education and resources to those in need.”

Through #PainCounts, the U.S. Pain Foundation hopes to:

• Spur greater research into the causes of chronic pain.
• Highlight the need for collecting population health data among ethnic groups and by location, which have often been neglected.
• Encourage health care providers to be trained according to the U.S. government’s Report on Pain Management Best Practices, along with promoting the report to patients and the greater public to increase chronic pain awareness and destigmatization.

For more information about the #PainCounts initiative, click the button below.