Chronic pain affected nearly one in four U.S. adults in 2023, while researchers are testing brain-feedback training amid gaps in access to some non-drug treatments.
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that 24.3% of U.S. adults had pain on most days or every day during the three months before the survey, its definition of chronic pain. High-impact chronic pain, which often limits life or work activities, affected 8.5%.
The chronic pain share rose from 20.4% in 2019, while the high-impact figure increased from 7.4%. A longitudinal analysis of 10,415 adults published in JAMA Network Open found that 61.4% of people who reported chronic pain in 2019 also reported it in 2020; 10.4% said they were pain-free that year.
CBS News reported Nov. 8 that Troy Hudnall, a Missouri veterinarian, had stopped working because of persistent arm pain. The report said his pain began after an injury during a calf delivery in 2022 and continued despite surgeries and other treatments.
A 2024 Washington University pilot study examined brain-feedback training for six people with chronic upper-extremity pain. The system paired an electroencephalography (EEG) headset with visual prompts and hand vibrations tied to frontal theta brain-wave activity. Five participants completed six weeks of training and one completed five. Median pain-severity scores fell 1.29 points, while pain-interference scores fell 1.79 points on the study’s Brief Pain Inventory measures.
The pilot was nonrandomized and had no control group, so it could not establish that the training caused the score changes. Its authors called for placebo-controlled studies to assess the approach.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says nonopioid treatments are preferred for subacute and chronic pain when appropriate. Options include exercise, psychological therapies and nonopioid medicines. The agency says incomplete insurance coverage can create cost and access barriers for some non-drug care, particularly for low-income, uninsured and rural patients.
In September 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued draft guidance to support development of nonopioid medicines for chronic pain, citing limited effective alternatives. The agency said opioids were prescribed to about one in five U.S. adults living with chronic pain.
