To obtain a precise diagnosis of neuropathic pain, an average of 4 years is expected, with peaks of up to 23 years. These are the disconcerting data that emerge from a research conducted by the National Observatory on Women’s Health (ONDa.) On 400 people suffering from chronic pain.
Spreading knowledge about constant pain and the possibilities of treatment remains the goal to be achieved to improve treatment possibilitiesand consequently the quality of life of the people who suffer from it.
“The chronic pain is the degeneration of an alarm bell which has the task of warning that something in the physical is not working: it is usually spoken of when the pain has been present for more than 6 months. It is mainly women who suffer from constant pain. Among the ailments that can cause it there are above all migraine, fibromyalgia (a disease involving constant muscle pain), osteoarthritis or osteoporosis, lumbosciatalgia (the common back pain) ”, says Francesca Merzagora, President of ONDa.
Among the most important forms of chronic pain is the neuropathic paincaused by a harmoften irreversible, to the pain perception system. This type of pain can be caused by various problems, such as polyneuropathy (diseases that cause the suffering of some nerves) and the radiotherapy (dysfunction of a nerve root).
In these people the pain is often localized in one (62%) or two (24%) sites with prevalence in the legs (48%) or in the spine (45%).
Very often, however, this type of pain it is not recognized and therefore it is not treated in the right way. “Despite the important repercussions on the lives of those who suffer from it, in Italy too little is known about the treatment of chronic painand there are very few hospitals with departments and specialists dedicated to treating this problem, ”says Merzagora.