According to the U.S. Pain Foundation, more than 50 million Americans suffer from chroinic pain and 20 million of those people are dealing with 'high impact' pain or pain that interferes with basic day to day functioning.
Pain is the main reason Americans seek health care and it's the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Estimates suggest pain costs the nation at least $560-635 billion a year in direct medical costs and lost productivity.
Living in pain can lead to problems at work, school and in relationships.
Those aches can become even more serious if they last for a long period of time.
Because of the opioid epidemic, doctors are more hesitant to prescribe painkillers, but other options are available and that's what this episode explains.
