The high prevalence of chronic pain in the United States continues to require discussion about what are really the most effective ways to help individuals with chronic pain while, at the same time, limiting the risks for complications commonly seen with the use of pain medications, particularly opioid analgesics.
These medications have dominated the chronic pain discourse over recent years, not because of their effectiveness, but because of their potential side effects and risks of misuse and abuse, including overdose and death.
When approaching the treatment of injured workers with chronic pain, a strategy to better understand their individual risk factors and a multifaceted treatment plan afford the greatest opportunity to bring about a meaningful reduction in pain, improvement in function, and a decrease in medication-associated risks and costs. This type of strategy is best afforded when ten factors influencing chronic pain are considered.
|1. Comorbid conditions
Comorbid conditions (or comorbidities) are medical conditions that either accompany or can affect the primary condition or injury and, as such, can negatively impact a Workers' Compensation claim.
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