Chronic pain has a lasting impact on someone’s quality of life. A new study from Great Britain indicates that those who suffer from chronic pain face complications with their health and quality of life for decades to come.
The study found that those individuals who were struggling from chronic pain at age 44 were more likely to suffer from poor overall health, increased pain, poor mental health, and unemployment as they continued to age. If pain was left unaddressed, these symptoms continued into the person suffering’s 60s. There isn’t data for the later senior years as the people in this study have not yet reached that age.
About 12,000 people were tracked during this study. All of these individuals were born during the same week in 1958 in England, Scotland, and Wales. The study tracked them over a long period of time and compared health outcomes as they aged. Chronic pain was the topic of this particular study.
Pain is something that no one wants to go through. We all face it at different points in life, but for most of us, pain is something that is temporary. Chronic pain is something completely different. Even if it is minor, it takes both a physical and an emotional toll on someone. In addition to some of the health things mentioned above, chronic pain has the potential to have a serious impact on someone’s mental health.
And while chronic pain treatment has evolved over the years, it’s still a mystery when it comes to how a lot of people should be treated. For years, doctors prescribed opioids to help treat chronic pain, but we’ve learned that this can actually cause even more problems, including addiction and overdose. New methods of treatment are still being developed, but it seems a mixture of physical therapy, exercise, and mental health treatment can be effective. Hopefully, this is an area of medicine that continues to change for the better.
If you or a loved one are dealing with chronic pain, please consult with a doctor if you haven’t yet. It’s important that chronic pain be treated appropriately, as this study points to. Pain might be an ongoing thing, but there are things that can be done to help reduce the negative impact that it can have on your life.
The team of researchers published their findings in the journal, PLOS ONE. The authors stressed that they hope that studies like this one lead to future research that can help improve life for people struggling with this.
We’d love to help. Maybe you don’t know what you’re looking for out of senior care. Maybe you know exactly what you’re looking for. But if chronic pain is an ongoing issue in your life, the right senior care team can help to make life a little better. Between better communication between providers, transportation to and from appointments, and a supportive individual in your life, we can help you and your family out quite a bit. Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about who we are and what we do.
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