The American Academy of Pain Management estimates that 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain caused by disease, disorder, or accident.

The most common?

* Arthritis
* Lower Back Pain
* Bone and Joint Pain
* Muscle Pain
* Fibromyalgia

A study called "Pain In America" resulted in astonishing results where 60% of those contacted stated that "pain is something you have to live with", and 28% felt that there was simply no solution for their pain whatsoever.

"Listen to pain" is the advice of Doctor Scott Fisher, head of the Division of Pain Management at the University of California. "If we cover up pain all the time, we may miss an important signal".

New techniques and medications are coming on stream several times a year for a variety of painful conditions, and you should keep in touch with your doctor to see if one is applicable to your particular painful situation. Much of the time, however, daily aches and pains can be relieved without running to your doctor. Some of these painful events may be the result of lack of exercise, playing your particular sports activity a little too aggressively, stress and tension
associated with the trials and tribulations of day-to-day life, sitting at a desk for extended periods of time, shoes worn out and need replacing, and a myriad of other events that can cause your body to react in a painful manner.

Unfortunately, we tend to reach for one type of NSAID (nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs) or another when pain strikes. These can be very effective, but according to Joseph Markinson, M.D. professor at Weill Medical College in New York City, "when people take ibuprofen, aspirin, ketoprofen, or naproxen sodium, they figure since those drugs are OTC they must be safe. As a result, they overdo them, or do not pay attention to interactions with other medications, While the benefits of these drugs are enormous and real, so too are the risks of gastrointestinal upset and bleeding."

Dr. Markinson, suggests "start low and go slow." He also suggests. "Don't use aspirin as your first choice for pain relief. It is short-acting as far as pain goes, but long acting in its impact on platelets and blood coagulation, and has a greater risk of causing ulcers than ibuprofen, for example."

You can protect yourself for ulcers related to NSAID's, using a pure analgesic such as acetaminophen, which offers relief from headaches, muscle aches and fever, but does not cause GI bleeding. It poses little threat when taken as recommended, but liver toxicity is a risk if you drink alcohol, have liver disease, or are also taking an NSAID or any additional medicine that contains acetaminophen.

The biggest mistake people make is not to tell their doctor and/or pharmacist what prescriptions and non-prescription meds they take, to include any and all vitamin supplements. This can cause dire consequences to their good health and may include death.

When it comes to decisions about pain relief, says Dr. Fishman, you have to think about what makes sense for you and weigh individual risks and benefits: Is the pain affecting your quality of life? Do you need a pain reliever to run every day? Can you get rid of your headache some other way? Proceed cautiously. And don't ignore pain, it's trying to tell you something.