As part of the Action Day Against Pain, the German Pain Society (Deutsche Schmerzgesellschaft e.V.) is calling on clinics and pain therapy centers to raise public awareness of the crucial health issue of pain therapy on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. The Kiel Pain Clinic , located at Heikendorfer Weg 9-27, is offering a public information event for patients and interested parties on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, at 7:00 p.m., focusing on the topic of "Successfully Combating Migraines and Headaches." From 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., those affected can call the hotline at +49 431-20099400 to ask questions of the Pain Clinic's experts. The day before, Monday, June 4, 2012, questions can be submitted to Prof. Göbel via a live chat on Headbook starting at 6:00 p.m. These will be answered directly. Registration on Headbook hands-on workshop on migraine and headache therapy will be held for physicians at the Kiel Pain Clinic. With the establishment of the first "Action Day Against Pain", the German Pain Society (Deutsche Schmerzgesellschaft eV), as well as its partners and participating clinics, aims to make an important contribution to improving the situation of pain patients and their relatives in Germany.

Chronic headaches and facial pain are a major widespread health problem. In Germany, 54 million people report headaches as a serious health issue at some point in their lives. Nationwide, more than 3 billion individual doses of painkillers are taken annually through self-medication alone, an estimated 85% of which are for headaches. Over 125 million packages of painkillers and migraine medications are dispensed in Germany each year. Including self-medication, approximately 200 million packages of painkillers are purchased. Ten of the 20 best-selling medications in Germany are for headaches. These figures are increasing annually. The amount of painkillers consumed in Germany each year is enough to provide over 10 million Germans with a daily, continuous supply of painkillers for an entire year. It is estimated that of the approximately 30,000 dialysis patients, roughly 20 to 30% became dependent on dialysis due to excessive painkiller use. These side effects of pain treatments alone cost statutory health insurance around 300 million euros annually and contribute significantly to the continuous increase in costs.

On average, every German swallows 37 single doses of painkillers per year. 8.3 million Germans take an average of one headache tablet daily through self-medication. 58,853 single doses of triptans – specific migraine medications – are taken every day in Germany. Approximately 60% of the population regularly takes headache medication through self-medication each month. About 12% of the population uses headache medication on more than 10 days per month. Around 3% of the population takes migraine and pain medication daily.

Nearly 65% ​​of those affected do not consult a doctor, but treat their headaches independently through self-medication outside the professional medical system. Only about 15% seek medical help for headache treatment.

The prevalence and high costs of neurological pain disorders mean that, after age-related dementia and stroke, headache disorders are among the three neurological diseases with the greatest socioeconomic impact. Among all brain disorders, headaches were the most common group in Europe in 2010, affecting 152.8 million people. They incur approximately €9 billion in direct costs for services related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of headaches, such as doctor's visits, hospital stays, and medication. An additional €34.5 billion in indirect costs arise, such as those resulting from reduced labor productivity and work incapacity. Overall, headaches cause €43.5 billion in direct and indirect costs annually in Europe.

In 2011, the World Health Organization and the global headache campaign "Lifting the Burden" published an atlas on the prevalence of headache disorders and available resources. The main messages of this key WHO publication on headache describe the current state of care and the necessary steps for modernizing and improving the diagnosis and treatment of headache disorders

  • Headache disorders are widespread and severely debilitating worldwide. Despite this, they are not adequately recognized in healthcare systems, are incompletely diagnosed, and are treated inadequately
  • Only a minority of people suffering from headache disorders receive a professionally adequate diagnosis and targeted treatment;
  • Treatment guidelines are only routinely used in 55% of countries;
  • Although there is a wide range of therapies that can be used effectively against headaches, adequate medicines for treatment are not made available regardless of per capita income, thus creating a barrier to modern treatment;
  • Worldwide, only 4 hours are devoted to headache disorders in the training of medical students; this lack of training is considered a key problem for the later adequate care of headache disorders;
  • Although headache disorders can be diagnosed and alleviated with modern methods, the underutilization of resources places a heavy burden on individual headache sufferers, as well as a burden on society. This situation persists pointlessly despite the availability of treatment options
  • The financial impact on the individual affected, as well as on society due to reduced productivity, is exceptionally high.
  • Proposals for an improved healthcare landscape include better professional training and further education as the most important measure for the care of headache disorders, and improved organization and coordination of the healthcare landscape for headaches;
  • Given the very high indirect costs of headache disorders, greater investment in headache healthcare is needed. This measure can also be effective in reducing overall costs.

Joint efforts can overcome existing obstacles and create solutions. To establish a modern healthcare landscape in Germany, experts from the Kiel Pain Clinic, regional and national health insurance companies, nationwide coordinated treatment program for severely affected individuals. A nationwide network of physicians specializing in migraine and headache treatment has been established. These local experts can be consulted directly within a patient's region to receive specialized pain therapy close to home. The nationwide headache treatment network and its partners receive continuous training and ongoing professional development on the latest international scientific findings in pain management. Should it become apparent that complex cases cannot be adequately treated regionally, patients have the option, thanks to the healthcare contracts concluded with almost all major health insurance companies, of receiving intensive, nationwide treatment at the neurological-behavioral medicine pain clinic in Kiel. Following this, the affected patients can continue to receive coordinated, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral care to stabilize the treatment outcome.

The nationwide headache treatment network was awarded the title of Germany's best integrated care project in 2012. Key criteria for the award included high-quality medical care, proven benefits for patients, and the exemplary networking of previously separate specialized practices and clinics.

Press contact: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Göbel
Tel: 0431-20099150

hg@schmerzklinik.de
https://schmerzklinik.de

Recent new book releases from the Kiel Pain Clinic on the topic:

This press release can be accessed at https://schmerzklinik.de/ueber-uns/presse/ .