The New Breed of Pain Killers

Not just new drugs. New ways to take old ones, new insight into exercise, even new specialists...all with one shared goal:
getting 80 million Americans relief.

ARE YOU IN PAIN right now. If so, you've got plenty of company. Some 80 million Americans live with chronic pain. And the older you are, the more likely it is that you've developed one of the common causes: an ongoing joint, bone or muscle problem (like arthritis, osteoporosis or fibromyalgia) or long-term nerve damage (often from diabetes or shingles).

Sometimes chronic pain starts with an illness or injury. Sometimes it begins for no discernible reason (such as mystery back pain). Regardless, the longer it lasts, the more difficult it is to treat.

What aggravates the situation: "Many people assume pain is a normal consequence of aging and don't mention it to their doctors"' says Douglas Merrill, M D, chair of the Committee oil Pain Management, American Society of Anesthesiologists.
"Even when they do, many doctors also think chronic pain is an acceptable part of aging. So many people aren't treated at all or aren't treated adequately:"
But there is good news. A revolution is under way in pain relief. Research breakthroughs are yielding new drugs and better ways to take them. Non-drug treatments are surging--mind/body techniques are going mainstream and exercise is now recognized as an important painkiller. Pain management has become a sophisticated subspecialty: Pain-treatment centers are mushrooming. To stop suffering, you've got to know what's out there and just as important--how to get it.