Ed. Note:  The following is a press release from the Canadian Pain Coalition.

November 3, 2006 -- Living with pain takes a significant toll on all
areas of everyday life according to Canadians diagnosed with a type of chronic
pain known as neuropathic or "nerve" pain. Sixty-eight percent of patients
participating in a recent study say that pain causes them great physical
suffering and, to compound this, 48 per cent say their families do not
understand how much pain they are in most of the time.
    Sleep and mood problems caused by pain affected other areas of life for
89 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively, of study participants. Sleep
problems affected work for 59 per cent of patients.
    "Living with pain has become a way of life for most of us," says Helen
Tupper (Halifax, Nova Scotia), President of the Canadian Pain Coalition (CPC).
"I have been lucky. My husband has been supportive and has helped me as I
developed my own ways to cope with this disease but we know that many
Canadians pain sufferers feel isolated. They struggle to manage work and
family life while dealing with their pain."
    The CPC is a coalition of Canadian patient organizations focused on the
health, social, financial and emotional issues related to pain. The study of
Canadian patients was completed for the CPC by Harris Interactive(R). Results
offer the most recent perspectives on neuropathic pain in Canada. Completed in
September 2006, it included in-depth interviews with 150 patients diagnosed
with nerve pain as well as 100 physicians. At the request of the CPC, this
survey was sponsored by Pfizer Canada.
    "Pain is not well understood as a disease, nor do most people or
governments understand its impact on the health care system or the economy,"
says Dr. Celeste Johnson, CPC Executive Director. "By quantifying and bringing
awareness to the issues and concerns of Canadian pain sufferers we hope to
change the way people think about and address the disease of pain."

    One in five Canadians suffer from pain

    It is estimated that as many as 20 per cent or six million Canadians
suffer from some form of chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that persists a
month or more beyond the usual recovery period for an injury or illness, or
that goes on for months or years due to a chronic condition. The pain may or
may not be constant but it does interfere with daily life at many levels.
Examples of conditions that can lead to chronic pain include diabetes,
shingles (herpes zoster) or HIV/AIDS.
    Neuropathic pain or "nerve pain" is a disease caused by injury or
dysfunction of the nerves in the body's pain sensing system. Approximately
500,000 Canadians have neuropathic pain, sometimes in combination with other
types of pain such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, migraine headaches.
    Because every nerve has a highly specialized function in a specific part
of the body, many different symptoms can occur when nerves are damaged. Some
people may experience temporary numbness, tingling, and pricking sensations
(paresthesia), sensitivity to touch, or muscle weakness. Others may suffer
more extreme symptoms, including burning pain (especially at night)(1). The
most common areas of the body affected by pain, and neuropathic pain in
particular, are the back, arms, feet and legs.

    Combination of treatments helps patients stay active

    Patients can wait months, even years, to receive a correct diagnosis and
then it may take more time to find the best combination of treatments to
reduce and help patients manage some of the pain. The primary treatments
included prescription and over-the-counter medications but most patients also
use medicines in combination with physical therapy, massage, rest, heat, ice
or hydrotherapy at some point.
    "You are always aware of your pain," says CPC member Lynn Cooper
(Kitchener, Ontario). "I pace myself and, like many others, find that I need a
combination of treatments to be able to stay active. Keeping a positive
outlook is important although I know many people who don't have the support of
family and co-workers. This support is extremely important in how people cope
with pain emotionally."

    Wait times for diagnosis and treatment often lengthy

    Many patients have trouble accessing a clinic that specializes in pain
diagnosis and treatment. A study presentation(2) at the Canadian Pain Society
meeting in June 2006 gathered information from 101 multi-disciplinary pain
clinics in Canada. Some of the results cited in the presentation included:

    -   Wait time to access publicly-funded treatment facilities can be as
        long as five years.
    -   One multidisciplinary treatment facility is available for every
        250,000 Canadians with this disease.
    -   As the vast majority of multidisciplinary treatment facilities are
        located in major cities, patients in or close to urban areas are more
        likely to receive timely diagnosis and treatment; there are no
        clinics in the province of Prince Edward Island or the three
        territories.
   
    About the Canadian Pain Coalition

    The Canadian Pain Coalition is focused on raising public awareness of the
health, social, psychological and economic issues of pain and ensuring that
this condition becomes a priority issue for Canada's health system. CPC
membership is mainly drawn from consumer and patient groups who, along with
health professionals and scientists, are working to reduce the prevalence of
pain in Canada.
    The CPC established National Pain Awareness Week (November 5 - 11) in
order to raise awareness of the prevalence of pain as well as the need for
better diagnosis and treatment of pain of all types. For comprehensive
information about how to recognize and cope with pain, issues, and local
support group activities visit the CPC website www.canadianpaincoalition.ca.
 

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