Chronic pain 'not managed well'RSS Feed

Chronic pain, for example caused by a spinal injury, is not managed well in the general population, and this problem is even worse in the homeless, research has shown.

A study at St Michael's Hospital revealed that 25 per cent of Canadian claim to have constant or sporadic chronic pain which has lasted for six months or longer.

Researchers believe this problem is likely to be much worse among homeless individuals, partly due to increased vulnerability to injury.

Almost half of the homeless people with chronic pain surveyed said they used street drugs to treat their pain, while 29 per cent used alcohol, according to the research published in journal BMC Family Practice.

Lead research Dr Stephen Hwang said: "The answer to pain is not always simply a pill.

"A lot of patients expect a pill, when often what they really need is physiotherapy, which they can't afford and isn't covered by insurance."

In other news, research published in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine found that self-rated physical ability came above the severity of spinal cord injury when determining level of overall self-rated health.

News by Serious Law. Expert legal assistance for those affected by spinal injury

Posted by Paul Breen
 

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