Chronic Pain Management

The Value of Medical Technology

Pain is the number one reason that patients access the health care system.
Cases of chronic pain are the leading cause of adult disability in the United
States.1 Chronic pain also adversely affects mental and emotional well-being.2

The Impact of Chronic Pain

One in three Americans suffers from chronic pain.

40 percent of Americans experience daily pain.
Chronic pain costs up to $635 billion each year in medical
treatment and lost productivity.3

The U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services has issued the National
Pain Strategy, a comprehensive national
plan to address chronic pain as a
complex disease. It calls for:

More awareness of pain treatment

options and their risks

Improved patient and provider

access to a larger range of pain
treatment options

Improved care through increased

research

Better provider education and

training about pain management6

Managing Chronic Pain

Chronic pain has traditionally been managed through physical therapy, the
use of over-the-counter pain medication, or the use of prescription opioids.4
Long-term use of opioids can result in the need for escalating doses, and
increases the risk of physical dependence, immune and hormone system
dysfunction, and overdose.5

Medical Technology and Chronic Pain

Medical technology can provide solutions to managing chronic pain that can lessen a patients use of opioids

and other oral pain medications, and improve quality of life.7 These solutions target the source of pain.
Medical technologies that can help manage chronic pain include:

Spinal Cord Stimulators (SCS)

Use electrical signals to block pain signals from reaching the brain.

The system is minimally invasive and is trialed for efficacy before a patient receives a permanent implant.

Covered by Medicare and most commercial health insurance plans.

Patients who use SCS have reported a 50 percent or greater reduction in pain, improving quality of life
and reducing disability.8

Neuroablation

Uses minimally invasive surgery to heat up a small area of nerve or tissue, blocking pain signals traveling
from the pain area to the brain.

Can be performed as an outpatient procedure and usually does not require general anesthesia.

Implantable Drug Pumps

Deliver pain medication directly to the fluid surrounding the spinal cord.

Reduce the amount of opioids needed to relieve pain.9

Diagnostic Tests

Monitor pain medication use, helping assure the appropriate treatment for patients who can be helped
by medications.

Eliminate or significantly curtail opioid abuse.10

1.

Institute of Medicine. Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention,

Care, Education, and Research. National Academies Press, 2011.

2.

American Chronic Pain Association. ACPA Resource Guide To Chronic Pain Medication &
Treatment. 2015.

3.

Institute of Medicine, Relieving Pain in America.

4.

ACPA, Resource Guide To Chronic Pain Medication & Treatment.

5.

Dowell D, Haegerich TM, Chou R. CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
United States, 2016. MMWR Recomm Rep 2016;65:149.
http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.rr6501e1.

6.

US Department of Health and Human Services. National Pain Strategy. 2016.

https://iprcc.nih.gov/docs/HHSNational_Pain_Strategy.pdf.

7.

ACPA, Resource Guide To Chronic Pain Medication & Treatment.

8.

International Neuromodulation Society. Neurostimulation lowers need for opioids in

chronic pain. ScienceDaily, 2013.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130610084019.htm.

9.

Hamza M, Doleys D, Wells M, et al. Prospective study of 3-year follow-up of lowdose

intrathecal opioids in the management of chronic nonmalignant pain. Pain Med.
2012;13:1304-1313.

10.

Milone MC. Laboratory Testing for Prescription Opioids. Journal of Medical Toxicology.
2012;8(4):408-416. doi:10.1007/s13181-012-0274-7.