There is one undeniable fact about chronic pain: More often than not, it is untreated or under-treated. In a survey last year by the American Pain Society, only 55 percent of all patients with non cancer-related pain and fewer than 40 percent with severe pain said their pain was under control.

Chronic pain is second only to respiratory infections as a reason to seek medical care. Yet because physicians often do not take a patient's pain seriously or treat it adequately, nearly half of chronic-pain patients have changed doctors at least once, and more than a quarter have changed doctors at least three times.

Most chronic pain patients end up taking a cocktail of pills that complement one another. There are three categories of drugs useful for treating chronic pain. Other options include massage and hydrotherapy, the use of hot or cold water to reduce inflammation and promote healing.

Chronic pain tends not to go away, and changes may have to be made both at work and at play. The goals should be to reduce pain to an acceptable level and to learn how not to make it worse.