Chronic pain affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. But the opioid crisis in North America led many health care providers to realize they relied too heavily on drugs to help patients manage their pain.

In this episode, a pain management specialist discusses new developments in pain treatment and why there’s hope for patients with chronic pain. Rachael Rzasa Lynn Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus speaks to Amanda Mascarelli Senior Health and Medicine Editor at The Conversation in the US about emerging chronic pain treatments.

This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive editor. Full credits available here. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. To support what we do, please consider donating to The Conversation.

Further reading:

• New treatments offer much-needed hope for patients suffering from chronic pain
• Chronic pain can be objectively measured using brain signals – new research
• Understanding that chronic back pain originates from within the brain could lead to quicker recovery, a new study finds
• How cannabis and psilocybin might help some of the 50 million Americans who are experiencing chronic pain