TABLE 2.

Pain prevalence, analgesic requirements and functional difficulty prevalence by age group

		18–32 years		33–52 years		53–71 years
	n (%)	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	p‐value
Prevalence (n)
Acute pain (47)	34 (72)	10 (77)	3 (23)	17 (77)	5 (23)	7 (58)	5 (42)	.454
Chronic pain (48)	34 (71)	5 (39)	8 (61)	19 (83)	4 (17)	10 (83)	2 (17)	.016*
Use of pharmacological analgesia (48)	44 (92)	11 (85)	2 (15)	23 (96)	1 (4)	10 (91)	1 (9)	.437
Difficulties with ADLs (48)	28 (58)	4 (31)	9 (69)	14 (61)	9 (39)	10 (83)	2 (17)	.035*
Pharmacological analgesia (n = 29)
COX−2 inhibitors	23 (79)	2 (67)	1 (33)	15 (83)	3 (17)	6 (75)	2 (25)	.665
Weak opioid analgesics a	11 (38)	1 (33)	2 (67)	7 (39)	11 (61)	3 (38)	5 (62)	1.000
Paracetamol	11 (38)	2 (67)	1 (33)	6 (33)	12 (67)	3 (38)	5 (62)	.627
Steroid injections	6 (21)	2 (67)	1 (33)	4 (22)	14 (78)	0	8 (100)	−
Strong opioid analgesics a	2 (7)	0	3 (100)	2 (11)	16 (89)	0	8 (100)	‐
NSAIDs	1 (3)	0	3 (100)	1 (6)	17 (94)	0	8 (100)	‐
Other a	3 (10)	1 (33)	2 (67)	1 (6)	17 (94)	1 (13)	7 (87)	‐
Taking >1 analgesic medication	13 (45)	2 (67)	1 (33)	9 (50)	9 (50)	2 (25)	6 (75)	.459

Data are presented as n (%). Fischer's Exact analyses of pain and pharmacological analgesia by age group is presented due to expected cell counts less than five. (‐) indicates test no statistical comparison interpreted due to very limited sample size. Missing data were excluded from the analyses.

Abbreviations: ADLs, activities of daily living; Cox‐2, cyclooxygenase‐2; NSAIDs, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs.

^a Weak opioid analgesics = E.g. Tramadol, Co‐codamol; Strong opioid analgesics = E.g. Oxycodone, Morphine; Other = Gabapentin, lidocaine, herbal remedies, topical gels.

^*Significant at p < .05 (two‐tailed).