Chronic Pain & Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous populations are disproportionally affected by chronic pain. Among those surveyed,
Indigenous Peoples had the highest prevalence of chronic pain in Canada (Meana et al., 2004). Among
Indigenous adults, diabetes (15.9%), arthritis (18.3%), and chronic back pain (12.4%) are commonly
reported chronic conditions (First Nations Information Governance Centre, 2018). Indigenous Peoples
often articulate the experience of physical pain as being secondary to emotional pain. Emotional pain as
a result of racism, colonization, premature death of kin, dispossession, dislocation, and community
violence deeply impacts the health of Indigenous Peoples (Allan & Smiley, 2015). Manual osteopaths are
chronic pain specialists and can help Indigenous People recover from chronic pain secondary to a
musculoskeletal disorder.