Parker County Today September 2016 | Page 45

Did You Know September Is National Pain Awareness Month? National Pain Awareness Month was created in September 2001 to increase awareness about the effects of pain, open the lines of communication in our local communities so that pain can be better understood and managed, and to educate citizens about the advanced treatment options available to help alleviate pain. Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined.1 Workers lose an average of 4.6 hours per week of productive time due to a pain condition.2 An estimated 20 percent of American adults report that pain disrupts their sleep a few nights a week or more.3 80 percent of people in the United States will experience back pain at some point in their lives.4 Besides the common cold, back pain is the number one reason people visit their family doctors.5 83 million Americans indicate that pain affects basic functioning in their everyday lives.6 Daily Habits to Help Reduce Pain Healthy Diet. Quit Smoking. Exercise. Participate in Life. PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY Sources: 1National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2016, Special Feature on Pain With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf., 2Results from the American Productivity Audit. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14665809., 3 National Sleep Foundation http://www.sleepfoundation.org. Sleep in America poll. 2000., 41 Vallfors B. Acute, Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain: Clinical Symptoms, Absenteeism and Working Environment. Scan J Rehab Med Suppl1985; 11: 1-98., 5U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2012, 6The American Academy of Pain Medicine; http://painmed.org/patientcenter/facts_on_pain.aspx SEPTEMBER 2016 Don’t live with pain – we can help. Call Lone Star Pain Medicine Today! 43