It doesn’t matter whether it’s burning, tingling, pressing or throbbing: pain is annoying – and draws attention to itself. According to the German Pain Society, between ten and 20 percent of all Germans suffer from chronic complaints. That corresponds to around eight to 16 million people. For those affected, the pain can quickly become a psychological strain. But what exactly is life like with constant pain?
The results of the so-called “Pain Atlas 2023” provide insight into the topic. More than 9,000 subscribers to the newsletter of the healthcare provider “Liebscher
Around 91 percent of the survey participants stated that they had problems with the musculoskeletal system. But before we tell you more, we want to hear from you first:
“I have a back!” said the fictitious journalist Horst Schlämmer. With the sentence, the fictional character of the comedian Hape Kerkeling probably spoke from the soul of many people – not least the participants of the Liebscher
The back is therefore by far the most frequently mentioned pain region. But the knees, neck and shoulders are also a burden for many. Around 40 percent of the survey participants complained of feeling pain at these points. Multiple entries were possible.
The findings from the “Pain Atlas 2023” correspond to data from the Robert Koch Institute from 2020. In a telephone survey of around 5,000 adults, more than 60 percent stated that they had experienced back pain in the previous twelve months. Almost 46 percent of those surveyed reported neck pain.
It is striking that many people have several areas of pain, according to a press release on the “Pain Atlas 2023”. On average there are about three. The suffering of those affected is usually not limited to these pain regions.
“The constant stress and the associated restrictions often lead to sleep disorders, poor concentration, tiredness, anxiety or depressive episodes,” write the authors of the report. Over 70 percent of survey participants said their pain affected their mood. 64 percent confirmed that their freedom of movement was restricted by the pain. Almost every second person felt that the family was suffering from the situation.
If someone suffers from acute or chronic pain, there is an urgent need for treatment. It is not easy to find an effective pain treatment. For more than half of all those affected from the survey, the search took at least two years. About 40 percent of the participants stated that they had already consulted two or three experts – one in ten even five or more. For comparison: According to the German Pain Society, only around ten percent of all pain patients receive therapy from a specialist.
Affected people therefore often resort to other methods. According to their own statements, almost 80 percent of the survey participants tried to get rid of their pain through exercises and self-treatment. This value is probably higher than for pain patients in general, since the survey was only aimed at newsletter subscribers to the “Liebscher
Most of them also use medication. About four out of ten respondents stated that they take painkillers on their own – a “worryingly large proportion”, according to the “Pain Atlas 2023”. Those affected are therefore not diagnosed and treated by a doctor or pharmacist. Such agents could be useful for the short-term treatment of acute pain. In the long run, however, self-therapy with medication without expert support harbors risks.
The data on which the “Pain Atlas 2023” is based was collected in the summer of 2022. Subscribers to the “Liebscher
The sample is not representative of the general German population: around 77 percent of the participants identified themselves as women, 23 percent as men and less than one percent as diverse. Almost half of those involved were 60 years old or older, more than 85 percent at least 50 years old.
The pool of respondents consisted mainly of people who had already had contact with the topic of pain. This made it possible to collect more detailed information on the experiences of pain patients.
Pain is clearly not something to be trifled with – including painkillers:
