Chronic pain is pain that lasts more than several months (variously defined as 3 to 6 months, but longer than “normal healing”). It’s a very common problem. Results from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey show that:
- About 25.3 million U.S. adults (11.2 percent) had pain every day for the previous 3 months.
- Nearly 40 million adults (17.6 percent) had severe pain.
- Individuals with severe pain had worse health, used more health care, and had more disability than those with less severe pain.
Chronic pain becomes more common as people grow older, at least in part because health problems that can cause pain, such as osteoarthritis, become more common with advancing age. Military veterans are another group at increased risk for chronic pain; U.S. national survey data show that both pain in general and severe pain are more common among veterans than nonveterans.
Not all people with chronic pain have a health problem diagnosed by a health care provider, but among those who do, the most frequent conditions by far are low-back pain or osteoarthritis, according to a national survey. Other common diagnoses include rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, carpal tunnel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. The annual economic cost of chronic pain in the United States, including both treatment and lost productivity, has been estimated at up to $635 billion.
Chronic pain may result from an underlying disease or health condition, an injury, medical treatment (such as surgery), inflammation, or a problem in the nervous system (in which case it is called “neuropathic pain”); or the cause may be unknown. Pain can affect quality of life and productivity, and it may be accompanied by difficulty in moving around, disturbed sleep, anxiety, depression, and other problems.1
For more information about chronic pain, visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
What the Science Says About Complementary Health Approaches for Chronic Pain
The scientific evidence suggests that some complementary health approaches may help people manage chronic pain.
A comprehensive description of scientific research on all the complementary approaches that have been studied for chronic pain is beyond the scope of this fact sheet. This section highlights the research status of some approaches used for common kinds of pain.
Chronic pain in general
Low-back pain
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Headache
Neck pain
Fibromyalgia
Irritable bowel syndrome
Other types of pain
Other complementary approaches
What the Science Says About Safety and Side Effects
As with any treatment, it’s important to consider safety before using complementary health approaches. Safety depends on the specific approach and on the health of the person using it. If you’re considering or using a complementary approach for pain, check with your health care providers to make sure it’s safe for you.
Safety of Mind and Body Approaches
Safety of Natural Products
For more information on complementary health approaches that have been studied for pain, see:
Guidelines for the Treatment of Chronic Pain Conditions
National health professional organizations have issued guidelines for treating several chronic pain conditions. Some mention ways in which certain complementary health approaches can be incorporated into treatment plans. Others discourage the use of certain complementary approaches.
A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians encourages the use of nonpharmacologic approaches as initial treatment for chronic low-back pain. The options they suggest include several complementary approaches—acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction, tai chi, yoga, progressive relaxation, biofeedback, and spinal manipulation—as well as conventional methods such as exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy.
The American College of Rheumatology mentions several complementary approaches in its guidelines for the management of osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. For osteoarthritis of the knee, the guidelines mention tai chi as one of several nondrug approaches that might be helpful. The same guidelines, however, discourage using the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) included probiotics/prebiotics, peppermint oil, and hypnotherapy in its evaluation of approaches for managing irritable bowel syndrome. The ACG found only weak evidence that any of these approaches may be helpful.
