Research at The University of Texas at Dallas is working to help ease the pain.

A poster was created about this topic.

We have all had a notably unpleasant feeling from time to time—a bad sting, a burn, a cramp, or a body ache. This is our nervous system alerting us something is wrong. Pain is the most common reason people seek out medical attention. It is one of the most expensive areas of healthcare today, with estimated costs exceeding 600 billion dollars. Acute pain might be quick and last for just a short while or it might linger on for weeks or months at a time.

Whatever the cause, acute pain does not usually last past six months. Pain can go on continually, or reoccur, even after the injury or illness that caused it has healed. Chronic pain affects one-third of the population. About 10 percent of the population suffers from high impact chronic pain which often causes disability and impacts their quality of life. 

Unfortunately, pain relief is not easily attained. Many people turn to opioids for relief. The result: more than 70,000 lives are lost each year to overdose. Something needs to be done to deal with the pain and help reduce this extensive loss of life. 

The University of Texas at Dallas is taking steps to ease the pain:

• We have developed the Center for Advanced Pain Studies that focuses on addressing the pain crisis that is affecting most of the world.
• We are gaining insight into the changes in the nervous system that lead to chronic pain.
• We develop interventional therapeutic strategies and test the efficacy and safety of those strategies.
• Our international collaborative work is advancing discoveries into clinics to help people address their pain.

We need to find a solution to pain.

For more information on our continuing research, please contact Dr. Theodore Price (theodore.price@utdallas.edu).

For more information on endeavors in the Office of Research, please contact Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology and Director of Social Impact Research Dr. Alex Piquero (apiquero@utdallas.edu).