A new study conducted by researchers at Western University determined more Americans use alcohol to manage their pain than Canadians.
As part of the study, the researchers conducted an online survey of more than 4,000 adults and asked them to choose up to 10 pain management options.
The survey concluded that adults who reported high levels of pain were 8 times more likely to use alcohol as pain management than those who had little to no pain.
Almost 8 per cent of American respondents said they use alcohol as a pain management strategy compared to 4 per cent of Canadians.
“Our research shows that using alcohol to treat pain is somewhat common, unfortunately. Previous research has shown that is not only ineffective at treating pain, but it can actually be counterproductive,” said lead researcher Anna Zajacova. “Our study also indicates that there is likely a lot of unmet need for better treatment options for people to manage their pain.”
The authors hypothesized that the high level of use of alcohol as pain management in the U.S. may be a reflection of more limited access to health care.
“What we learned from this survey is that people aren’t necessarily just visiting their doctor to manage their pain, and it’s important to understand the non-medical and non-pharmacological strategies that people are using, for better or for worse,” said Zajacova.
Other methods of pain management reported included over-the-counter medications, exercise and acceptance.
