About 40% of Portuguese people suffer from chronic pain, and in 75% of cases the disease is underdiagnosed or poorly treated, Luce, coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Congress on Pain, which advocates a holistic approach, told Tuesday.
The congress, scheduled for Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, from 18 to 20 September, is the result of a partnership between the 3M Medical Initiative and the Centre for Research and Development in Continuous and Palliative Care of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra.
According to coordinator Hugo Ribeiro, the figures from the “first epidemiological study of victims [de dor crónica] carried out in 2012 are identical to those carried out in 2023”, concluding that “in the last 10, 15 years (…) little has been done in Portugal to combat this huge scourge”.
“It’s a scourge not only for the quality of life of people suffering from chronic pain, but for the entire country,” the doctor stressed, listing “the brutal costs that range from absenteeism to absence from work and the contribution that the State will have to support people who cannot be productive.”
Hugo Ribeiro noted that there could be other losses, also citing “the impact of psychiatric, cardiovascular and even respiratory diseases, which worsen when chronic pain is poorly controlled.”
“Chronic pain has several associated factors, particularly musculoskeletal and osteoarticular pathologies that cause increased pain with age, which if not assessed and treated properly, becomes chronic pain, which is no longer a physiological, adaptive response mechanism, a situation in which our brain interprets a certain set of signals and causes pain that ultimately disrupts sleep, mood, our ability to manage ourselves and concentrate,” he described.
And he continued: “As we age, we have more pain because we also have more reasons for that pain. Our data is alarming. We have 83% of older adults with chronic pain, in addition to 75% of patients complaining of pain or pain that is poorly treated, uncontrolled, or even somehow devalued by health care providers.”
Continuing to highlight the results of the two studies, the congress coordinator points to “failures in training,” lamenting that pain “is a problem that is not addressed in medical schools” in Portugal.
“In recent decades, we have seen a mismatch between what training offers to doctors and other professionals and their responsibility when they are actually working with patients, because we have diseases and health problems that we cannot respond to in undergraduate training,” he said.
According to Hugo Ribeiro, a specialist in general and family medicine, the existence of a problem that “affects more than 40% of the Portuguese population reflects the fact that” part of the training has been a complete failure.
Pointing out that one solution involves investing in training, he argues that “an interdisciplinary approach works best (…), such as physical exercise, spiritual approaches and approaches related to psychotherapy, with the participation of other specialists.”
“A holistic intervention will not harm sensitivity, because everyone who works in the field of pain already knows that this is how it should be. This is more than proven,” he insisted.
As useful international examples, he pointed to “the Scandinavian countries, where we work closer to society,” while Portugal still “focuses on pain departments in hospitals,” when what is most important “is that there should be consultations on chronic pain, for example in health centers with doctors, psychologists and nurses who are more specialized in chronic pain.”
At the congress, IM3M – a group of doctors from various specialties united by the desire to organize and promote medical training in geriatrics, pain medicine and palliative medicine – will honor the memory of Dr. José Gomes Hermida and award a doctoral fellowship in palliative care to the national coordinator of Palliative Care of Cape Verde, Valéria Semedo.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.