Alternative and functional pain management gathers steam

By a wide margin, alternative medicine and complimentary medicine remain subordinate to mainstream conventional medicine takes primacy. This primacy is suggested by survey results: Only 22% of adults prefer “alternative medicine” to standard medical practice, supporting its subordinate position, according to Pain Management in the U.S.: Consumer Strategies, a Packaged Facts report available at https://www.packagedfacts.com/Pain-Management-Consumer-10595686/.

But the times, they are a changin’: the percentage of consumers who prefer “alternative medicine” to standard medical practice has risen from 17% over the past 10 years, a 37% jump. The trend extends deeply into the realm of pain management, which continues down an inclusive path that suggests success for alternative therapy professionals.

• To gauge the likelihood of survey respondent “pain sufferers” obtaining relief from a specific pain management method, Packaged Facts asked them 1) to identify specific methods they used to treat their sleep problem, and 2) whether they obtained relief from that specific treatment method.

• Among the healthcare professionals achieving the highest likelihood of relief are alternative therapy professionals—acupuncturists, chiropractors and massage therapists.

• As would be expected, outcomes were influenced by type/source of pain, severity of pain, and other such factors.

Consumers also want products to be multi-functional, and pain sufferers are no different: they exhibit significant interest in retail products that can help treat their pain while featuring value-added functional claims. For example, roughly half of pain sufferers express interest in a pain product that also provides needed vitamins/minerals, while 45% express interest products that treat the mind, body and spirit. As pain reliever marketers know, this translates the opportunity to blend pain relief while addressing other complaints, such as sleeplessness. But it goes beyond that, offering a world of opportunity to incorporate a broader spectrum of functional and holistic benefits, even those that—for now—remain “alternative.”