A SURVEY looking at the experience of acute pain in Australians has revealed that more than two in three Australians (69.3%) have experienced it in the last 12 months.
Conducted by healthcare company Viatris Australia and including over 2,500 adults, the survey found sport (46%), work (38%), kitchen incidents (27%) and running (25%) were among the main scenarios for injury.
The research also suggested that acute pain injuries are impacting productivity in the workplace, with over half of Australians (53%) who have experienced acute pain saying they have called in sick to work because of it.
Meanwhile, almost a quarter (24.2%) say they cannot afford to take time off work, presenting a risk that they will not access appropriate treatment.
Poor acute pain management can lead to sub-optimal health outcomes, including progression to chronic pain, which cost the economy over $144 billion in 2020.
Clinical Pharmacist and Australian Pain Society Immediate Past President Joyce McSwan said mischaracterisation of pain can lead to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment, underlining the importance of pairing accessible treatment options with education, so Australians know when and how they can access that treatment.
"If not appropriately treated, the acute pain that everyday Australians experience can develop into chronic pain conditions," McSwann said.
"And with the large number of Australians calling in sick due to acute pain, this underlines the need to ensure convenient and accessible treatment options to support better quality of life, protect productivity levels, and prevent unnecessary burden being placed on the Australian healthcare system," she added.
The findings were released as Viatris' Celebrex Relief (celecoxib 200 mg) became a Schedule 3 pharmacist-only medicine, the first COX-2 inhibitor to be made available without prescription in Australia.
It follows the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)'s update of the Poisons Schedule to include celecoxib 200mg as a Schedule 3 pharmacist-only medicine in Feb last year. KB
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