The National Institutes of Health estimates medical expenses lost wages due to pain total about $100 billion per year. Lost productivity adds up to $61 billion per year.

“That estimate trumps almost every other chronic condition but heart disease,” says Robert A. Bonakdar, director of integrative pain services and a member of the Scripps Green Hospital Pain Management Committee. “As we go forward, a higher percentage of the population is going to have issues dealing with pain.”