What are the causes and risk factors associated with high impact chronic pain?

Disease - Chronic pain

Lead applicant - Professor Danielle van der Windt

Organisation - Keele University

Type of grant - Special strategic award

Status of grant - Approved

Amount of the original award - £507,486.50

Start date - 01 March 2022

Reference - TBC

Public Summary

What are the aims of this research?

This research aims to find out the causes and risk factors associated with high impact chronic pain. This will inform pain management methods such as self-care or treatment options which will more effectively address people's individual needs.

Why is this research important?

Research has shown that 40-45% of UK adults suffer from chronic pain associated with musculoskeletal issues for more than three months. Many people living with chronic pain are able to function with minimal disruption to their daily lives. However, it is estimated that 25% of people living with chronic pain experience disability, distress and high healthcare needs, causing extreme disruption to their daily lives. This type of disruptive and severe pain has been labelled as high chronic impact pain. Currently, research is limited on high chronic impact pain which prevents optimal prevention and treatments available for people living with high impact chronic pain. This research will assess factors which put people at risk of developing high impact chronic pain, factors which maintain high impact chronic pain and factors which enable people to recover successfully and manage their pain.

How will these findings benefit patients?

Understanding factors which contribute towards high impact chronic pain will help to inform different methods of pain management such as self-management or treatment options which are best suited for the persons individual needs. Implementing early intervention and support can target specific risk factors which may prevent the onset of high impact chronic pain.