January 2007

Chronic pain up almost 40% among workers

Persistent, chronic pain has risen dramatically among full-time U.S. workers in the past 10 years, but workers today opt to go to their jobs rather than call in sick, leading to a growing trend of presenteeism — a negative impact on work despite being physically present at the job.

These data, released today, are from a 2006 national survey conducted by Harris Interactive on “Pain in the Workplace” (www.painandwork.com), conducted in partnership with the National Pain Foundation (NPF).

“Chronic pain appears to be increasing in prevalence among U.S. workers as Americans age and lead more sedentary lifestyles,” said Rollin Gallagher, MD, MPH, editor-in-chief of the NPF Web site (www.NationalPainFoundation.org), a founding and current member of the Board of the NPF and clinical professor and director, Center for Pain Medicine, Research and Policy of the University of Pennsylvania.

“This survey indicates that employees with chronic pain must become their own advocates, understand the impact of their chronic pain, and work with their healthcare provider to identify appropriate treatment options.”

Almost nine in 10 employees with chronic pain (89 percent) typically go to work rather than stay home when experiencing chronic pain, the survey found. The same percentage of employees (89 percent) reported experiencing chronic pain at work “often” or “sometimes.” Ninety-five percent of employees with persistent, chronic pain reported that their pain must be moderately severe or very severe to cause them to stay home from work.

More than two-thirds, or 66 percent, of employers surveyed now offer worksite wellness programs to employees. But while the number of wellness programs is relatively high, the number of programs addressing chronic pain is not. Only 22 percent of wellness programs include a component about preventing or living with chronic pain conditions.

The survey was co-sponsored by PriCara, Unit of Ortho-McNeil, Inc., and About ULTRAM® ER

The 2006 survey was conducted via telephone within the United States by Harris Interactive between October 30 and December 3, 2006 among 1,103 employed U.S. adults age 18+ and 251 employment benefits managers at non-headquartered locations with 150 or more employees at the site.

Source: PriCara, Unit of Ortho-McNeil, Inc., www.pricara.com

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