Complementary Medicine and Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is common and complex, impacting approximately 3.6 million Australians¹, including 1 in 5 Australians aged 45 years and over.² Continuing to rise at an alarming rate, it is estimated that by 2050 the prevalence is expected to reach 5.2 million, with the annual cost of chronic pain in Australia increasing to $215.6 billion.³

This invisible condition is categorised by persistent pain on most days of the week, often resulting in significantly reduced productivity and overall quality of life.² It is commonly classified as neuropathic, arising from nerve damage, and nociceptive, resulting from ongoing inflammation and damage to non-neuronal tissues.⁴ While acute pain serves as a short-term, protective response to tissue damage (with resolution after tissue healing), chronic pain lasts more than 3 months and persists beyond typical healing timeframes, devoid of any apparent beneficial function.⁴ Common causes of chronic pain include back and neck pain, migraines, arthritis, fibromyalgia and cancer⁵, with 56% of chronic pain conditions being musculoskeletal.³