Chronic pain is a very real problem for people today. According to The American Academy of Pain Management chronic pain affects as many as 50 million Americans every year. According to their statistics, most of these people have been living with these problems for over 5 years. This makes it a very real problem. The problem is so widespread is even being called an epidemic in some annals.
Chronic pain affects mind, body and spirit yet, we are still learning what some of the effects of chronic pain are on the human body and the brain, yes the brain. Chronic pain seems to take a toll on the body after a period of time. Research has shown that people who suffer with chronic pain have many other issues.
So how does chronic pain affect the brain you ask? Well people who suffer with chronic pain tend to have problems with their sleeping patterns. They also have problems with concentration and tend to have more problems with being alert during the daytime hours due to the problems sleeping. They also have problems with short term memory due to this.
It has also been documented that people with chronic pain have more problems with depression. It is well documented that chronic pain and depression go hand in hand. There is even anti-depressant therapy that is given for chronic pain by pain management specialists that can be helpful in many cases.
Physicians are still learning how to combat chronic pain. There is much that needs to be done in this field in order to help those who suffer with this cruel fate. Until more is known the epidemic sadly will continue.