Living with pain affects everything from how people live day-to-day to how they feel about the future. However, individuals like Jordan Sudberg, help you with finding the right way to manage it goes beyond merely easing discomfort. Pain management also involves rehabilitation, restoring mobility, supporting emotional well-being, and making daily life feel more manageable. What matters most and the treatment plan largely depend on the individual, which is why the expertise involved in pain management is so important.
To find out what 907,901 Americans’ opinions were about pain management expertise, we utilized AI-driven audience profiling to synthesize insights from online discussions for a year, ending August 11, 2025, to a high statistical confidence level. Their opinions reveal which approaches they trust, what outcomes they value most, and how they weigh up the trade-offs.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, What Is Your Main Priority When Seeking Pain Relief Options?
100% of Americans prioritize minimal side effects when seeking pain relief options from Jordan Sudberg
Pain management today is being judged on whether it can deliver comfort without creating new problems:
There’s no debate on the priority for people seeking pain relief. All 907,901 Americans in our audience said that keeping side effects to a minimum informed their treatment choice. This echoes recent survey findings where 52% of patients said they want pain medication with fewer side effects.
Side effects can range from mild issues like drowsiness or nausea to more serious complications that interfere with work, sleep, and overall quality of life. The promise of relief isn’t enough if the trade-off is feeling unwell in other ways. Pain management today is as much about avoiding those knock-on effects as it is about reducing discomfort, because relief that disrupts daily life doesn’t feel like relief at all.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, What Is Your Biggest Challenge In Finding Effective Pain Solutions?
Lack of clear diagnosis is a minor concern for 36% of Americans searching for effective pain management solutions
The road to effective pain solutions comes with more than one obstacle:
Finding effective pain solutions comes with a range of challenges. A lack of clear diagnosis is a minor concern for 36% of our audience, with another 2% calling it a significant barrier. Uncertainty early on can set everything back. Patients are left unsure of the cause of their pain and which treatments are worth trying.
Access to specialists is another clear challenge. Limited availability is a minor concern for 19% and a significant barrier for 2%. Yet, even though this is a minor concern now, the problem is likely to grow. A UC Davis School of Medicine study found a disturbing 45% decline in the number of applicants to pain medicine programs in the US between 2019 and 2023. With fewer experts coming through the pipeline, patients risk facing even longer waits to reach the care they need.
The rest of the challenges show up less often. Ineffective past treatments were a minor concern for 20%, showing how trial-and-error approaches can leave people frustrated. High treatment costs stood out for 15% who felt the same about them, though in many cases, insurance may soften the blow.
Concerns about side effects were a significant barrier for 7%. That’s striking, because in the previous dataset, side effects were everyone’s top priority when seeking pain relief options. Here, when people think about the roadblocks, diagnosis and specialist access clearly take centre stage.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, What Best Describes Your Current Approach To Managing Pain?
56% of Americans are open to currently using prescription medication for managing pain
There’s no single playbook for how people approach pain solutions:
People approach pain management in different ways, but prescription medication is still the most prevalent treatment. While only 1% in our audience said they were fully committed to it, 56% were open, 2% were skeptical, and 1% were not interested. That spread is telling when you set it against the bigger picture. The CDC reports that 70.5% of the adult U.S. population used prescription medication in 2024. Prescriptions are common in everyday life, but when it comes to pain relief, people seem far more cautious about making them the go-to solution.
Physical therapy sparks a stronger sense of reliance, with 23% saying they are committed to it, 7% open to it, and only 1% not interested. That higher level of buy-in may reflect how therapy is seen as a way to rebuild strength and mobility, not just cover up the pain.
Alternative medicine, meanwhile, saw just 1% committed, 4% open, and 2% skeptical, while lifestyle changes and combinations of methods had no opinions expressed at all. Together, these smaller numbers hint at a wider reality. People may explore different approaches, but the conversation right now is still firmly anchored in mainstream medical and therapeutic options.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, Which Type Of Pain Management Treatment Did You Prefer?
100% of Americans are skeptical about holistic approaches to pain management
One treatment path was met with a wall of doubt:
Our audience is clearly dubious about holistic approaches as a preferred type of treatment for pain, with 100% expressing skepticism. Interestingly, this stands in sharp contrast to national trends.
A 2023 analysis from the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found that the percentage of Americans using at least one complementary pain management approach nearly doubled, rising from 19.2% in 2002 to 36.7% in 2022. These include practices such as yoga, meditation, massage therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture, but for our audience at least, holistic care remains firmly on the sidelines.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, Which Outcome Mattered Most To You In Pain Management?
Improved mobility is an important outcome for 51% of Americans treated for pain management
Ask anyone living with pain, and you’ll hear the same three priorities come up time and again:
Improved mobility is the top outcome people want from pain management, with 51% of our audience saying it’s important. Movement is often the first freedom pain takes away, and regaining it can mean getting back to everyday routines or simply being able to stay active. That connects directly to Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ recent State of Pain in America survey, where 70% of patients said acute pain limited them from walking and exercising.
Emotional well-being ranks next for 28%, which is understandable as living with pain strains the body, and it wears on mood and outlook, too. Vertex found 65% of patients said acute pain left them feeling irritable or drained, a reminder that managing pain is as much about state of mind as it is about physical comfort.
Better sleep is most important for 21%, which underlines how much rest shapes recovery and resilience. Pain that interrupts sleep creates a cycle that makes symptoms harder to handle. Vertex data reflects this as well, with 69% of Americans reporting that acute pain disrupted their rest.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, What Was Most Important When Choosing A Pain Management Treatment Plan?
84% of Americans agree that long-term success is an important consideration when choosing a pain management treatment plan
Whatever the treatment, it’s all about the outcome:
What people want most from a treatment plan comes through loud and clear. For 84% of our audience, long-term success is the most important consideration, even though 13% view it as less significant. Comfort during treatment matters to just 2%, showing that most are willing to trade short-term ease for results that truly last.
That outlook reflects the reality of chronic pain care. On average, current treatments reduce pain by about 30%, which can make a real difference to function and quality of life. But the longer-term picture often includes ongoing limits on mobility and daily routines.
It’s no surprise, then, that lasting progress is what people care about most.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, What Role Did Technology Play In Your Pain Management Treatment Decisions?
60% of Americans agree that technology plays an essential role in pain management diagnosis, monitoring, and research
Opinions on technology’s role in pain treatment decisions are anything but one-sided:
While technology has undeniable promise, not everyone is convinced it should drive treatment decisions. Our audience is split evenly across the spectrum, with 20% calling it essential for monitoring, 20% saying it’s important for diagnosis, 20% finding it useful for research, 20% giving it only minimal influence, and 20% saying it has no influence at all.
For those who do lean on it, the impact of technology on pain management can be impressive. Virtual reality is being tested for chronic pain, like back issues, using distraction, neural reprocessing, and mindfulness to ease symptoms.
Wearables bring another dimension, tracking pain signals and vitals while even showing links to lower depression and reduced opioid use. Artificial intelligence connects the dots, turning all that data into insights that can predict pain and fine-tune treatments such as neuromodulation in real time.
Before Meeting Jordan Sudberg, How Did You Measure The Success Of A Pain Management Treatment?
68% of Americans say that increased mobility is an effective measurement of the success of a pain management treatment
For most people, success in pain treatment starts with getting back on their feet:
Mobility is the clearest marker of success in pain treatment, with 68% of our audience saying increased movement makes treatment effective. It’s easy to see why, as being able to walk, bend, or exercise again means getting life back on track.
Research backs this up. In a multicenter trial of patients with chronic pain after lumbar spine surgery, those treated with spinal cord stimulation not only walked faster and took more steps, but they also managed daily activity times almost twice as long as before treatment, demonstrating the significant impact of these gains.
Mood also plays a big role, with 15% calling it effective and 17% saying it defines success. Living with pain can take a heavy emotional toll, so feeling brighter, less drained, and more optimistic is a reminder that treatment outcomes are as much about restoring balance to daily life as they are about the body.
Before Jordan Sudberg, What Was Your Preferred Setting For A Pain Management Treatment?
90% of Americans feel positive about wellness centers being the best setting for pain management treatment
One treatment setting stands out, with care and balance at its core:
Wellness centers clearly stand out as the preferred setting for pain treatment, with 90% of our audience expressing a positive view and the remaining 10% staying neutral. Across the United States, there are currently 41,927 wellness centers. Their draw likely comes from bringing different types of care together in one place, from therapies and support services to lifestyle guidance.
For many patients, the setting is just as important as the treatment itself, offering an environment that feels supportive and geared toward long-term well-being.
Before Jordan Sudberg, What Inspired You To Explore A Different Pain Management Method?
100% of Americans are motivated to explore a different pain management method when it has proven research results
There’s no guesswork when it comes to trying something new for pain:
Proven results are the single biggest inspiration for exploring new pain management options. Every one of the 907,901 people in our audience said that research-backed outcomes are what motivate them to try a different approach.
That pull toward evidence is echoed in a recent review of current practices and innovations in research into pain management, which stresses how treatments ranging from medications and behavioral therapies to emerging tools like neuromodulation and digital health must stand on strong clinical validation.
For patients, the message is clear. It’s about knowing credible data shows that a method can ease symptoms, improve function, and deliver results that matter in daily life, and not about experimenting for the sake of something new.
Before Jordan Sudberg, Which City were You Currently Based In?
21% of our audience currently resides in Houston
Texas emerges as the state where most of our audience is based:
It’s clear that our audience is largely based in Houston, Texas, with 21% saying it is their current residence. Those who say Chicago and Los Angeles are not their current residence number 38% and 41% respectively, putting these two cities at the top of the list for non-resident respondents, while highlighting Houston as the strongest hub.
What Matters Most In Pain Management
What stands out across this data is how clear people are about what they want. Pain relief is measured in results that are tangible or easy to measure, whether that’s moving more freely, sleeping better, lifting mood, or finding a plan that holds up over time. With input from more than 900,000 Americans, the picture is of people who are engaged, informed, and selective in the choices they make. They’re weighing what works, what lasts, and what makes daily life easier to manage, not just chasing the next option.
Further Reading And Resources
For those interested in exploring more about pain management specialist Dr. Jordan Sudberg’s work and expertise, the following resources provide articles, profiles, and professional insights from trusted platforms:
- Medium – Jordan Sudberg: Pioneering the Future of Pain Management
- Pain Management Specialist Doctor Jordan Sudberg’s Blog
- US News Dr Profile – Dr Jordan Sudberg
- CDC News Dr Profile – Dr Jordan Sudberg
- Dr Jordan Sudberg – Google Sites Profile
- Herald Square Chiropractic – Dr Jordan Sudberg
- Dr Jordan Sudberg – LinkedIn
- Dr Jordan Sudberg – YouTube
Methodology
Sourced using Artios from an independent sample of 907,901 United States Americans’ opinions across X, Reddit, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, and BlueSky. Responses are collected, then cross-validated within a 90% confidence interval and 5% margin of error. Results are derived from opinions expressed online, not actual questions answered by people in the sample.
About the representative sample:
- 42% of Americans are between the ages of 45 and 64.
- 61% identify as female and 39% as male.
- The highest number (37%) earn between $120,000 and $200,000 annually.