Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions: Definition and Causes

Pain conditions that often occur together and either solely or predominantly affect women have been recently termed by the NIH as chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs). They include: vulvodynia, temporomandibular disorders, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, chronic tension-type and migraine headache, and chronic low back pain. (Six of these affect ≥50 million people and cost >$80 billion annually in health related costs.) Dr. Sawsan As-Sanie discusses.