The pain of ageing

More than half of older adults experience some moderate or intense pain on a monthly basis – a fact that has been recorded across the world.

Although older adults are very different – which is why ageism is so hurtful – there is a sizeable number of older adults who are unwell and in pain. Pain is not a normal part of ageing, but most people in older age groups experience long-term pain.

It is surprising to most people, especially nowadays when drugs (both medications and recreational drugs) are so accessible and easy to obtain, that people are still in pain. In the US, where we ingest more medicine than any other country (but not recreational drugs), nearly eight out of every 10 hospital deaths occur without any pain management.

More than four out of every five older adults in long-term care facilities experienced untreated or under-treated pain at the time of death. While seven out of 10 older people on government health care in the US, who are about to die within the next two years, regardless of their age or location, received an inadequate amount of pain management.

There is a problem with controlling pain, especially for older adults and specifically at the end of life for...