New research suggests that healing after surgery can depend on how secure, supported, and connected a person feels in daily life.
At the 2025 Anesthesiology annual meeting, researchers shared a striking finding: people who experience food insecurity or loneliness are significantly more likely to develop chronic pain after surgery. Among more than 8,000 patients analyzed, those who struggled to access food were 83% more likely to face pain lasting a year or longer. Even small shifts in connection made a measurable difference — each measured step in loneliness increased risk by about 2%, while each step up in social support reduced it by almost 4%.
That’s troubling to hear in a world where social connection and food security are increasingly under strain. For isolated seniors, people with disabilities or those living with food insecurity, a needed healthcare treatment could unintentionally transform into a source of chronic pain. And in a new economic context of work requirements for Medicaid recipients, that pain can threaten both livelihoods and future care.
The good news is that the roots of this problem can be snipped before it blooms into a painful problem by growing social connections and food access.
At ProHealth Connect, we see how independent and community retailers are more than just shops; they’re staples of their community, anchors of stability in a time that feels increasingly unstable. For a senior without family nearby or a young person trying to make it in a new city, their local grocery or pharmacy can sometimes be the connection that takes them through the day - even if it’s as simple as having someone remember their name.
People who can use their OTC or grocery benefit cards at neighborhood stores aren’t just buying food — they’re staying connected to their community when their income or other living stipend may not be enough.
For local retailers, that’s a meaningful opportunity. By accepting health-related benefit cards, your store becomes part of a patient’s care network. You help transform a routine shopping trip into a step toward well-being. With that growing trust comes loyalty — not only out of convenience or habit, but because they are gaining a healing connection that would not happen if they shopped at some corporate giant 30 minutes away.
ProHealth Connect is proud to partner with retailers who make that vision real. By helping older adults and people with OTC & grocery benefits use their cards easily and with dignity, you’re doing more than serving customers — you’re anchoring people to their community, and in some cases helping them heal even if they don’t know it.
