Chronic pain is the medical term for pain that lasts more than about three months. The word “chronic” means “long-lasting.” Researchers estimate that more than 100 million American adults have chronic pain, so you are not alone. Chronic pain is one of the leading reasons we visit the doctor and take medication. It is extremely […]

Inevitably in life, we or a family member will get sick or hurt at some point. Sometimes it will build slowly, and other times it pops up out of nowhere. That is why understanding the role of a patient advocate will help make a stressful time more manageable. Thankfully, we now have more resources to […]

Patients with chronic diseases—6 out of 10 adults in the United States[i]—need help to adopt and sustain healthy behaviors. “Most clinicians have a really hard time talking to patients about healthy behavior change. We either beg or threaten them to make changes. This doesn’t work very well,” says Thomas Bodenheimer, MD, MPH, a professor in […]

When you break your leg, undergo surgery, or burn your hand, you experience pain—acute pain. With treatment and time, the pain usually disappears. But chronic pain is different. It hangs around even after the original illness or injury has improved, reminding you every day that it has no plans to vacate the premises. Technically, chronic […]