Chronic pain is a condition affecting roughly 20% of Canadians, veterans’ group says
Paul Roos has been living with chronic pain for the last 10 years — a direct result of injuries he sustained while serving as an infantry officer in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Roos, who is also the director of operations with the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans in Hamilton, Ont., says chronic pain is a condition affecting roughly 20 per cent of Canadians. It’s pain that persists longer than three months after an injury.
“When I served in the Canadian Armed Forces, I had a couple of injuries, and some of them have some lingering problems, including chronic pain,” Roos told CBC Hamilton.
“In the Canadian Armed Forces, we found that veterans are suffering from chronic pain at twice the rates of Canadians, so it’s a rate of about 40 per cent of veterans actually suffering from chronic pain.”
Roos served for nine years in the Canadian Armed Forces starting in 2008, and his chronic pain began in 2012 while he was still in active service.
He said he suffered “an overuse injury” in his left leg and his right arm, “and a couple of problems” with his back as well.
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