Study Shows Chronic Pain Increases Femur Fracture Risk
Recently, a research paper was published showing that chronic pain is associated with an increased femur fracture risk. The paper was published by a team of experienced doctors and scientists located at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. Femur fractures have the potential to cause serious complications. In some cases, they might even be deadly. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the various risk factors associated with this type of fracture. By understanding the risks that might lead to a femur fracture, the hope is that they can be prevented in the future.
This research paper takes a look at chronic pain in a new light. In the past, research papers have been focused on looking at how injuries can cause chronic pain. This paper is unique because it takes a look at how chronic pain can actually lead to severe injuries, such as femur fractures. The results of this study have significant implications moving forward.
Addressing the Scope of Chronic Pain
Pain is one of the most common reasons why people visit the doctor. Chronic pain is also one of the leading causes of disability in the United States. Millions of people across the country suffer from chronic pain. This daily discomfort can make it hard to attend school, hold down a job, and even get out of bed in the morning. Those who suffer from chronic pain often develop discomfort in more than one location in the body, addressed in the research study.
In order to analyze the effects of chronic pain on the risk of bone fractures, there must be enough people who suffer from this debilitating discomfort to draw meaningful, statistically relevant conclusions. Even though it is sad that so many people suffer from chronic pain, this also provided the researchers a large patient population with which to work.
The Design of the Femur Fracture Research Study
The research team at the medical institute conducted a longitudinal, prospective study looking at more than 1,000 individuals over a period of several years. The doctors tracked two separate factors during the course of the study. The first was the severity of the pain and where it was located in the body. The second was the site and number of bone fractures the individuals sustained.
The participants indicated that they had chronic pain in numerous locations throughout the body, including the neck, back, shoulders, hips, feet, hands, and knees. The participants also sustained fractures in a variety of locations, including the vertebrae, wrist, humerus, ribs, and femur. The scientists then conducted a detailed statistical analysis of the results.
The Results of the Chronic Pain Study
At an average of about ten years after the initial study, individuals reported a total of more than 150 new bone fractures, many of them in the femur. Prior to the ten years, these individuals had suffered a total of 450 fractures. This represents an increase of 33 percent. Most importantly, the researchers noted that the number of initial fractures increased with the number of chronic pain locations in the body. The researchers also noted that the number of new fractures also increased with the number of chronic pain locations throughout the body. For example, individuals who had pain in seven different locations had a higher risk of suffering a major fracture, such as a broken femur, when compared to someone who had chronic pain in only one location. This directly ties chronic pain to major bone fractures, including those involving the femur.
Femur Fracture Risk and the Future
The results of this study show that chronic pain increases femur fracture risk. Therefore, medical professionals and those who suffer from chronic pain need to be vigilant at all times. A femur fracture can develop from even seemingly minor trauma, such as a slip and fall accident. Future research studies will need to address why musculoskeletal pain increases the risk of major bone fractures. Effective pain treatment options might be able to reduce this risk in the future. By better understanding the relationship between chronic pain and femur fractures, serious injuries can be prevented in the future.
Sacramento Femur Fracture Lawyers
I’m Ed Smith, a Femur Fracture Lawyer in Sacramento. The presence of chronic pain increases femur fracture risk according to this research study. If you or a loved one has had issues with femur fractures due to the negligence of another person or entity, call me as soon as possible at (800) 404-5400 or (916) 921-6400 for free, friendly legal advice.
I am humbled to be an attorney in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and in the Top One Percent, a National Association of Distinguished Counsel. This forum includes injury lawyers who have won verdicts and have negotiated settlements of greater than $1 million in worth.
My visitors are able to see our verdicts or settlements, saved at this location.
Many of our client comments are on Yelp, Avvo, & Google for all of our guests and visitors to read.