The hidden pain epidemic: Why 40 people a week are dying from the medicines we take for granted

Hands up if you’ve ever reached for a painkiller before the school run. Or pushed through a headache at your desk, a bad back from carrying a toddler on one hip, or period pain that would floor a boxer, because there was simply too much to do to stop. You’re not alone. Far from it.

A new report, The True Cost of the Pain Epidemic: Mapping Pain and the Opioid Crisis, has laid bare just how much pain Britain is in and how we’re treating it. I attended the virtual health conference where the findings were presented by GPs Dr Janine David and Dr Nisa Aslam, alongside pharmacist Mark Burdon, and some of the numbers genuinely stopped me in my tracks.

Britain is a nation in pain

The British Pain Society estimates that around 10 million Britons suffer pain almost every day.  Combogesic® research found that two out of five people (41%) experience pain daily, and the vast majority, 84%, describe it as mild to moderate.

Mild to moderate. That’s the backache, the tension headache, the aching joints, the period pain. The kind of pain we’re expected to just get on with.

And what’s driving it? According to the report: an ageing population, rising obesity rates (adults classified as obese nearly doubled between 1993 and 2022, from 15% to 29%) and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. As Dr Janine David put it, we spend so much time sitting that it’s naturally causing back and joint problems.

Sound familiar, London mums? The desk, the buggy, the car seat, the sofa at 9pm with a laptop.

The opioid problem nobody wants to talk about

Here’s the uncomfortable part. Every year in the UK, more than 5.3 million people are prescribed opioids. In 2019, 13% of the adult population were being prescribed an opioid pain medicine.

The economic analysis by the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) at the University of York estimates the burden of opioid prescribing at around £1.17 billion with unnecessary opioid prescribing alone costing the NHS an estimated £240 million a year.

But the human cost is far worse. An average of 40 people die from opioid-related causes every week, making opioids the leading cause of drug-related deaths in the UK. More than half (53%) of UK GPs agree there is an opioid crisis.

Pharmacist Mark Burdon was blunt: “The human cost of opioid usage is very concerning.”

The risks aren’t only about addiction. The Faculty of Pain Medicine warns that opioid use, not necessarily misuse, increases the risk of an adverse drug event by 250%, with other known risks including fractures and falls, anaemia, decreased libido, loss of muscle, osteoporosis, depression, menstrual irregularities, fatigue, weight gain and sudden drops in blood pressure.

And using opioids for three months or more carries a high risk of addiction, particularly with a history of poor mental health or substance misuse. Coming off them can bring body aches, sweating, nausea, raised blood pressure and a faster heart rate.

A postcode lottery

One of the most striking findings? Where you live may matter more than how much pain you’re in.

12.7% of patients registered in Norfolk and Suffolk, areas of relatively low deprivation, are prescribed opioids, compared with 5.39% in west and north London, where deprivation is markedly higher. Dr Nisa Aslam said the variation “suggests that a patient’s postcode, rather than the severity of their pain or their clinical need, may determine whether they are offered an opioid.”

For London mums, that’s a genuine local talking point and a reminder to ask questions about any medicine you’re offered.

So what should we be doing instead?

The new peer-reviewed paper, Next-Generation Mild-to-Moderate Pain Management Pathway: A Strategy for Reversing the Opioid Crisis, argues that the NHS pain pathway needs a rethink. Currently, many pathways apply a version of the WHO “analgesic ladder” designed for cancer pain to everyday pain, moving patients onto a weak opioid such as codeine when paracetamol or ibuprofen alone hasn’t worked.

The authors suggest a non-opioid fixed-dose combination analgesic should be offered at that point instead. A modest shift could deliver meaningful savings: a two-week reduction in opioid prescribing alone would save the NHS £24 million a year.

7 self-care essentials for mild-to-moderate pain

The experts also shared evidence-based self-care strategies worth knowing:

1. Give yourself a break. Perfectionists report higher levels of pain, according to researchers at Murdoch University in Western Australia. Cut yourself some slack and set realistic expectations.

2. Make your move. Exercise is proven to reduce pain severity. Dr Aslam suggests swimming as an excellent option if you’re overweight or have musculoskeletal pain, as it minimises load on the joints.

3. Spa way. A meta-analysis of 67 randomised controlled trials found massage therapy provides modest improvements in pain scores. Even better with a friend, friendships have been shown to increase pain tolerance.

4. Soothing music. A meta-analysis of nine trials in 787 patients found just 20 minutes of music helps relieve pain and associated depression, most effective when you choose your own playlist.

5. Eat to ease inflammation. Diets rich in fruit and vegetables may support a lower-inflammatory state, and they’ll help with weight too.

6. Mind matters. Brain scans show having a sense of control alters how we process discomfort. Ask your GP about CBT, the NHS offers good online options, and there are plenty of free apps.

7. Your go-to painkiller. Which brings us to the medicine cabinet.

Pain is not a weakness, and needing relief is not a failure. But the way we treat pain matters, for our own health, for the NHS, and for the thousands of families affected by opioid dependency every year. Asking your pharmacist or GP about opioid-free options is a perfectly reasonable conversation to start.

And if you needed permission to book that massage, put your playlist on, or go for a swim this week? Consider it given.