
What is chronic pain and how can you manage it?
By Lisa Salmon. Published 2020-07-13
BOLD-WellbeingAs singer Annie Lennox calls for the reopening of pain services, TheBoldAge talks to a doctor about what chronic pain means.
Lots of health services have been impacted by Covid-19 – including pain management services, which singer Annie Lennox recently shone a light on.The former Eurythmics star, who has lived with chronic pain following an operation over a decade ago, took to her website recently to call for these services to be restored, saying it’s “indecent and inhumane” to leave people suffering.Chronic pain – which can be caused by many conditions, including arthritis, cancer, fibromyalgia, injuries, lower back problems and persistent headaches – blights the lives of millions of people, causing huge physical, psychological and social problems. Yet it’s thought to be one of the most underestimated healthcare problems in the world.Lennox says she understands “only too well what it feels like to go through hours or days with extreme physical discomfort” – and although there’s been a greater focus on phone and video consultations recently, she points out that due to the pandemic, many pain clinics have now been closed for months.The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) estimates one in five people suffer from moderate to severe chronic pain, and up to two-thirds of them struggle or are unable to exercise, sleep normally, do household chores, attend social activities, drive, walk or have sex.
So what exactly is chronic pain and what can those affected do about it? Here, GP Dr Paul Stillman, co-author of Deep Relief’s new ‘Psychology of Pain’ report (deep-relief.co.uk), tells us more…
