Help and hope at the bottom of the pile

Abstract

The burden of chronic pain for those who have it and their families is substantial, says Henry McQuay , and these patients deserve better. Dawn Stacey and colleagues (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39520.701748.94) describe an example of quality improvement in practice for one group of people with chronic pain, those with osteoarthritis Chronic pain is common—but it isn’t sexy. People who through no fault of their own have their lives demolished by pain deserve our help. The Pain in Europe survey found that 19% of almost 50 000 people questioned in a telephone poll had chronic pain, defined as pain of at least moderate severity occurring almost every day for at least six months.1 One in five of these respondents had pain for more than 20 years, and most had pain for more than five years. The main causes are back pain and arthritis, and the incidence of chronic pain increases with age. Our populations are ageing. In the United States the number of people aged 65 years or older will …