No Longer
Silent.
Better chronic pain treatment will improve the lives of millions of Americans, save billions of dollars, and reduce opioid prescribing.
PAINS No Longer Silent exists to:
Change the beliefs, attitudes and perceptions of media about chronic pain as a disease.
Increase media coverage and support evidence based reporting of chronic pain
Change the beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of the media about the relationship between chronic pain and the opioid epidemic
Decrease media coverage that conflates the opioid epidemic with chronic pain
Together we can transform the way chronic pain is perceived, judged and treated.
Imagine…
Watching your favorite movie… with an unrelenting headache.
Preparing a meal for your family… with severe joint stiffness.
Being unable to hold your grandchild… due to back pain.
How would your life be impacted?
Chronic Pain by the Numbers
million
Americans living with chronic pain
(More than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined)
billion dollars
Spent each year on healthcare treatment & lost productivity
(An estimated $500-$635 billion is spent annually)
In March 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published The National Pain Strategy Report (NPS). One section of the NPS Report focused on the need for public education and communication strategy. There is widespread agreement that it is essential that the public recognize chronic pain as a neurological disease and a major public health issue. Furthermore, it is critical that the corollary between efforts to improve chronic pain management and the opioid epidemic be clearly defined and understood. In the past few years, a very public debate has emerged pitting chronic pain and the opioid epidemic against one another.
What We Do
PAINS provides expertise, technical assistance and well-researched, objective information to policymakers and organizations at local, state and national levels to advocate for legislative and regulatory initiatives to positively impact people living with chronic pain.
In Pain?
If you’re living with pain, participating organizations in our alliance and others offer a wide variety of resources to help you connect to others in your community, find pain physicians, and access educational resources and tools to better manage your pain.
Stories of Pain
100 million Americans live with chronic pain, and many live meaningful lives built on strength, hope, and courage.