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How do people ease their pain? A population-based study
Juha H O Turunen1, Pekka T Mäntyselkä, Esko A Kumpusalo
1Department of Social Pharmacy, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Findland. juha.turunen@uku.fi
The Journal of Pain
|November 24, 2004
Summary
People actively manage pain using common self-care strategies like over-the-counter medicines and physical exercise. Pain location, intensity, and duration influence treatment choices and the number of pain management strategies used.
Area of Science:
- Pain Management
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Understanding population-level pain management is crucial for public health initiatives.
- Identifying factors influencing treatment choices can optimize pain care strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate pain management strategies in the general population.
- To determine factors associated with the selection of different pain treatments.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional postal survey of 3641 respondents who experienced pain in the past 7 days.
- Analysis of pain management strategies used in the past 6 months.
- Correlation analysis of pain characteristics (location, intensity, frequency) with treatment choices.
Main Results:
- Most common strategies: over-the-counter medicines (53%), physical exercise (52%), prescription medicines (35%), physician visits (33%).
- Pain location influenced strategy selection.
- Multiple treatment use (>4) linked to prolonged pain, multiple pain sites (>3), and high pain intensity/frequency.
Conclusions:
- Individuals with pain are proactive in exploring various management approaches.
- Self-care, particularly over-the-counter medications and physical exercise, are prevalent at the population level.
- Pain characteristics significantly impact the complexity of pain management strategies employed.