The Price Tag on Pain

What medical condition do these three people have in common: an 80-year-old with arthritis, a 50-year-old with a bad back, and a 20-year-old with migraines?

The answer, which may not be obvious, is chronic pain. While many of us think of pain as a symptom of something else and not a condition in itself, all those aches add up to a serious public health problem. Regardless of its origin, pain is the No. 1 cause of disability in America and it costs us a great deal.

"Pain in itself probably costs the American population upwards of $120 billion each year," says Marc Hahn, DO, president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. "That's not only in its medical treatment, but in its impact on society, in missed days, and decreased productivity at work."

And while looking at pain's bottom line is important, no price can be put on the enormous suffering it causes.

"If you're a person with chronic pain, every moment is affected by it," says Penney Cowan, founder and executive director of the American Chronic Pain Association. "Pain spills over into every aspect of life and can become your identity. It can make people lose everything -- even their homes and their families."

Fifty million people in America are either partially or completely disabled by pain, says Hahn, and according to a recent survey of 1,000 people conducted by the Partners for Understanding Pain, one out of three are affected by it. But in a nation with such sophisticated medical treatment, why are so many of us suffering from an often-treatable condition?

The Causes and Costs of Pain

So what's causing all of this pain? For the most part, it's the usual suspects.

"Low back pain and headaches are the most common sources of intractable pain in our society," says Hahn, and many such injuries are caused on the job. Diseases and other conditions such as diabetes and especially cancer can cause pain as well. For people with cancer, treatments like chemotherapy and surgery can result in pain themselves.

While many people might assume that chronic pain is a bigger problem for the elderly, the Partners for Understanding Pain survey found that 80% of those with chronic pain are between 24 and 64. Cowan -- whose organization, the American Chronic Pain Association, spearheaded the survey -- reports that sports injuries are among the most frequent causes of chronic pain for people in their 20s.

Cowan says that a lot of people are reluctant to admit they're in pain, especially when they're hurt on the playing field.

"People will tell you to shake it off and play through pain," she says. "But there are pains that you shouldn't ignore. It's your body's way of telling you something is wrong."

One of the biggest risks of ignoring pain is that it will turn the acute pain from a pulled muscle or other injury into a chronic pain that can last your lifetime.