Long-term experiences of pain after a fragility fracture

Little is known about long-term pain after a fragility fracture. In this secondary analysis, we determined that pain continues to influence many patients' lives more than 1 year after a fracture and that health care providers do not seem to adequately recognize or manage these long-term consequences.

We characterized perspectives on long-term pain among men and women who had sustained a fragility fracture.

We conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data from 67 individuals recruited in three primary studies (47-89 years old; 55 women, 12 men). Eligible individuals from the primary studies were those who had reported pain related to their fracture beyond 6 months. Data about reported pain were re-analyzed using qualitative description as articulated by Sandelowski.

Thirty-four individuals (47-89 years old; 4 men; 8 had sustained a vertebral fracture) reported pain related to their fracture in the primary studies. Thirty-one (91%) participants had sustained a fragility fracture at least 1 year previously (range 1-13 years). Patients described long-term pain beyond typical fracture healing times, generally unrelieved by analgesics, which affected their mobility, functional activity, independence, sleep, and energy. Health care providers were perceived to under-estimate timelines regarding the decrease of post-fracture pain and to not manage that pain. Participants reported that pain management was inadequate and that they developed their own strategies to respond to it.

Pain continues to influence many patients' lives more than 1 year after a fragility fracture. Patient narratives could be useful to help health care providers to better recognize and manage this long-term consequence of fractures.