Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is defined as pain persisting for longer than 90 days and beyond an expected time frame for tissue healing.¹ It may be continuous or intermittent and may continue with or without an obvious cause.¹

A 2020 South African study, conducted on more than 10,000 South Africans, found that almost one in every five South African adults suffers from chronic pain.² The prevalence rises from about one in every 10 respondents between the ages of 15 and 24 years to three times more – about one in every three – from respondents older than 65 years.² 

The study reports that the prevalence of chronic pain in South African women is about 20% greater than it is in men (20.1% in women vs 15.5% in men).²

Experiencing pain is also associated with having a lower self-rated health status.²

Chronic pain comes at significant personal and societal cost.² For example, compared to people without chronic pain, those who suffer from chronic pain are less likely to be able to work, more likely to be absent from work, and more likely to have lower productivity when at work.²

Chronic pain is associated with significant healthcare costs, whether as direct costs to the individual (e.g. the personal expense of doctor visits and medication) or as costs to society (e.g. the provision of healthcare services and social grants as well as caregiver burden).²

The history of any patient presenting with chronic pain should be documented and the patient should be physically examined and undergo an assessment.³ These will ultimately help to determine their chosen treatment strategy.³

The treatment goals are to decrease pain by at least 30% and/or to increase function by at least 30%, with minimal adverse events.¹

Both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions should be considered in the treatment of chronic pain.^2,3