Do you suffer from chronic pain every day of your life? It can be difficult to do all the things you love and enjoy when you are in pain. You never realize how much is taken from you until you remember what life was like before your chronic pain. Whether it is hip pain, knee pain, back pain or something else, you probably hope for a remedy or treatment that may be able to relieve some of the pain you feel every day. You are not alone in these thoughts or feelings.
Interested in learning more about how anything from hip pain to knee pain can impact your day-to-day life? Keep reading to find out just how many people are affected by chronic pain in their knees, hips and elsewhere and what can be done to possibly help with some of the pain.
How Common Chronic Pain Is In The United States
Chronic pain in different areas of the body is very common for those living within the United States. From your hip, to your knee, to your back, to different joints throughout your body, it is not rare for someone you know or for you yourself to be suffering daily with unwanted pains and aches.
There are a variety of different types of chronic pain that ail Americans. One of the main types is hip pain. In general, around 7% of adults living in the United States suffer from some amount of hip pain every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This can be due to a previous injury, old age, too much vigorous activity or exercise or numerous other reasons.
Another form of chronic pain that people can suffer from is osteoarthritis. When it comes to all the different types of arthritis, this is the most common form. It can affect anything from your hips, to your knees, to your hands. Currently, there are over 30 million adults living in the United States who are affected in one way or another by osteoarthritis.
When it comes to chronic pain, knee pain in the second most common type people suffer from daily. A lot of times, this can be related to a previous injury or strenuous physical activity. For instance, you can tear your ACL when playing a sport or being active. This is actually the most common type of knee ligament to get injured. Every year, around 100,000-200,000 people rupture their ACL.
Back pain is another form of chronic pain people suffer from in the United States. On any given day, there are around 31 million people suffering from different types of chronic back pain. It can be difficult to sit for too long or to be extremely active when you are suffering from back pain. This is especially dependent on where in the back the pain usually is.
How to Cope with Chronic Pains
One of the recommended ways to deal with chronic pain like hip pain, back pain or knee pain is to first seek medical advice from a professional doctor. They may advise that you start seeing a physical therapist to help with the pain. In physical therapy, you can focus on specific areas that give you pain and exercises that may be able to help relieve some of the pain.
The earlier you seek professional medical advice and treatment from a physical therapist, the more likely it is that you will be able to catch anything major going on in your body. You will also save yourself time and money in the long run. For example, if you start physical therapy after consulting with your doctor as early as possible, you could save thousands in potential medical costs. It is important to take your chronic pains seriously so you can address them before they get worse or end up requiring further medical involvement.
Have you ever gone to physical therapy for treatment for chronic pain in your knee, back, hips or another part of your body? Did you find that physical therapy was helpful for you in relieving your pain? Let us know in the comments about your experience with chronic body pains.