My life changed in an instant two decades ago when I was crushed in a serious accident that left me with severe back pain that has never gone away. I was suddenly plunged into a search for relief from an unrelenting, gnawing, burning, searing band of scorching hot coals across my mid-back and the crushing pressure of clenched, spasm muscles tightened like cords running up and down my spine that worsened whenever I was not lying flat.

I have learned that my multi-year search for help is a common story for everyone with chronic pain in America. For nearly two decades, I have led a chronic pain support group, and in recent years I have become involved in a number of efforts to address the dual crises of opioid use disorder and chronic pain in America. My years of experience have taught me that the most vital thing Congress can do is invest in research and improvements in clinical care, commensurate to the economic burden, physical pain, and loss of quality of life and even life itself they can cause.

I call on Congress to consider these key points:

Chronic pain affects 50 million Americans, including 20 million Americans who live with high-impact chronic pain.

The financial and societal burden of chronic pain is enormous: it costs the United States an estimated $635 billion annually in terms of lost productivity and health care costs. It is the leading cause of disability.

Chronic pain is a disease of the nervous system and brain that can and does last a lifetime. It is distinct from acute pain, which is time-limited.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment for pain. Individualized care is essential. Patients must work closely with their healthcare providers to weigh the benefits and risks of each option.

Chronic pain and opioid use disorder are distinct and separate diseases. Many patients use opioids legitimately and safely.

We must restore access to care and medically necessary treatment for tens of thousands of pain patients who have been dropped from care by fearful and frustrated providers.

A multimodal, multidisciplinary approach to treatment—that includes both pharmacological and nonpharmacological options—is essential to effective, long-term pain relief. Inadequate insurance coverage, high out-of-pocket costs, and limited availability are significant barriers to effective care.

Investing in public, provider, patient, and policymaker education about acute and especially chronic pain is fundamental to progress in the care, well-being, and productivity of millions of Americans.

Expanding research at the NIH into our fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of pain in the human body is essential to discovering safer, more effective treatments—and someday a cure—for chronic pain, and for reducing reliance on opioid analgesics.

The National Pain Strategy and the HHS Pain Management Best Practices Task Force Report are excellent public policy blueprints for jumpstarting a national commitment to pain care improvements. These initiatives must be funded and implemented.

The American crisis of inadequate treatment of chronic pain demands Congressional attention. We have done the work to determine effective next steps; it now the work of Congress to fund these necessary recommendations. I call on you to commit to an investment commensurate with the scale of this crisis to once and for all solve the enormous problem of pain in America.

Subscribe to our blog via email