Recent insight from medical researchers are giving us a glimpse into just how many people worldwide go through daily life frequently in a haze of pain, which not only takes its toll on pain sufferers themselves, but on society as a whole.


Chronic pain alone affects 1.5 billion people globally, an estimated 100 million of whom live in the United States, reports David Borsook, M.D., Ph.D, a leading pain expert at Massachusetts General Hospital in the U.S.

Pain costs the country “billions of dollars in health care and lost work productivity each year,” says Dr. Borsook. “We do not yet have medications or other treatments that can effectively alleviate chronic pain with speed or efficiency in the majority of patients,” he says, adding that doctors “treat patients with a trial-and-error approach, initially prescribing drugs with fewer side effects, reflecting the lack of effective treatment options.”


Acute pain and chronic pain together represent a significant public health problem, impacting more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined, according to the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Acute pain is defined as pain that is temporary, usually lasting fewer than 3 months after being caused by injury, surgery or infection. Chronic pain is pain lasting more than 3 months.


Pain’s global impact is also noteworthy. For example, worldwide, medical costs associated with pain care and the economic costs related to disability days and lost wages and productivity are staggering, estimated to be from $560 billion to $635 billion in the United States alone.


To further illustrate the effect that pain can have on its sufferers, the American Academy of Pain Medicine describes four key areas of health which are impacted, and the vicious circle that this can create:


• Sleep: Pain, and the anxiety it creates within us, makes it hard to sleep. Lack of sleep makes pain worse and decreases energy.

• Energy: Coping with pain drains energy. Lack of energy makes it hard to be active and to stay in shape.

• Activity: Pain and lack of energy make it hard to be active. Lack of exercise worsens pain.

• Mood: Chronic pain and the limits it puts on your life can lead to depression, anger and anxiety, making coping with pain even harder.

IceWave pain patches by LifeWave have been clinically shown to demonstrate these qualities:


–Safe and natural pain relief

–Can be used for whole body and local pain

–Convenient and easy to use

–Fast results

For more details on U.S. IceWave, click here.

For more details on EU IceWave, click here.