Survey Results

What is the impact of pain?

• After 12 months of treatment, 95% of our sample are still in moderate or severe pain. For 58% of patients, their level of pain did not change over the year, and for 17%, the pain became even worse.
• After one year of treatment, 55% of patients rated the impact of pain on their lives as huge, with 34% rating this as moderate. For almost two-thirds of patients (62%), the impact pain has on their lives has not changed since Wave 1. For 40% of patients, their pain still has a huge impact on their daily life.
• Patients highlight ongoing challenges associated with childcare, with 53% reporting difficulties in looking after their children at the end of the research compared to 47% at the beginning.
• Pain has a significant impact on patients’ ability to work; 65% worry that their pain will mean they have to stop work completely.
• The emotional impact of pain is just as detrimental as its physical impact. 44% of patients report feeling alone in tackling their pain and 2 out of 3 patients feel anxious or depressed as a result of their pain.
• Patients describe pain as a never-ending circle, impacting on every aspect of a their lives. 8 out of 10 patients said that their pain has an impact on their quality of life and many reported feeling trapped by a pain. 28% said the pain was so bad, they feel like they want to die.