More than 20 percent of U.S. adults—50 million people—live with chronic pain such as spinal disorders and disc disease, pinched nerves, low back pain, neck pain, complex regional pain syndromes, fibromyalgia, shingles, diabetes-caused neuropathies, and arthritic and musculoskeletal conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People suffering with chronic pain were frequent targets of opioid overprescribing, and many became victims of the opioid epidemic that has swept the world. People suffering from chronic pain have experienced additional stress and forced isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, which often also brought depression and weight gain.
