1. How many people are affected by pain the UK? Almost 10 million Britons suffer pain almost daily resulting in a major impact on their quality of life and more days off work. 2. How many days are lost at work due to back pain related problems The TUC reported that British businesses lose an estimated 4.9 million days to employee absenteeism through work related back pain - with the North East suffering more than most, with 2 people in every hundred having to cope with the condition. With each affected employee taking an average of 19 days off work this is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed. 3. How much does it cost the exchequer in disability benefits? The exact cost of chronic pain is unknown. The cost of back pain to the exchequer is estimated to be in the region of £5billion per annum. There are many people with pain who are not able to work who are not covered by this or by allowances, such as those women who are not working but are maintained by their partner, or those who have taken early retirement on the grounds of ill health. The total cost of pain to the economy in terms of people removed from the workplace because of chronic pain is unknown. The only estimate is from the fact that 2.7 million people are on incapacity benefit, and this is probably an underestimation of the total number of people not working for the reasons described above. 4. How much does it cost the NHS in treatment of pain? The cost to the NHS of treating chronic pain is not known. Recent studies have demonstrated that the cost of adolescent pain is nearly £4billion per annum alone, calculated at an average of £8000 per teenager. In 1993 the cost of back pain to the NHS was estimated at nearly £500,000. 5. Does gender affect your threshold on your ability to deal with pain? There is a growing body of evidence to show that, contrary to popular belief, the pain threshold in women is less than that of men. 6. What is the definition of Acute Pain? Acute pain is short-term pain of less than twelve weeks duration. 7. What is the definition of Chronic/persistent pain? Chronic pain is continuous, long-term pain of more than 12 weeks or after the time that healing would have been thought to have occurred in pain after trauma or surgery. 8. What is the definition of Neuropathic pain? Neuropathic pain is pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the peripheral or central nervous system. For example pain following shingles, or an amputation, or spinal cord trauma. Pain that occurs in diabetics or in patients with multiple sclerosis. Can also be neuropathic.
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DelveChiropractic focuses on disorders of the nervous system, skeletal system and muscles along…
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