What Is Pain?Pain Basics,Chronic Pain,How Is Pain Treated?

Home > Diseases & Conditions > Pain Management > What Is Pain?Pain Basics,Chronic Pain,How Is Pain Treated?
Pain is the unpleasant feeling common to such experiences as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut and bumping the "funny bone".[1] The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".[2]Pain motivates us to withdraw from damaging or potentially damaging situations, protect the damaged body part while it heals, and avoid those situations in the future.[3] It is initiated by stimulation of nociceptors in the peripheral nervous system, or by damage to or malfunction of the peripheral or central nervous systems.[4] Most pain resolves promptly once the painful stimulus is removed and the body has healed, but sometimes pain persists despite removal of the stimulus and apparent healing of the body; and sometimes pain arises in the absence of any detectable stimulus, damage or pathology.[5] Social support, cultural values, hypnotic suggestion, excitement in sport or war, distraction, and appraisal can all significantly modulate pain's intensity or unpleasantness.[6][7]Pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in the United States.[8] It is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and can significantly interfere with a person's quality of life and general functioning.[9] Pain medicine is a subspecialty under such medical specialties as anesthesiology, physiatry, neurology, palliative medicine and psychiatry.[10] The study of pain has in recent years attracted many different fields including pharmacology, neurobiology, nursing, dentistry, physiotherapy, and psychology.
Everyone experiences pain at one point or another. It often is an indication that something is wrong.
Each individual is the best judge of his or her own pain. Feelings of pain can range from mild and occasional to severe and constant.
What Is Acute Pain?
Acute pain begins suddenly and is usually sharp in quality. It serves as a warning of disease or a threat to the body. Acute pain may be caused by many events or circumstances, including:
Surgery Broken bones Dental work Burns or cuts Labor and childbirth
Acute pain may be mild and last just a moment, or it may be severe and last for weeks or months. In most cases, acute pain does not last longer than six months and it disappears when the underlying cause of pain has been treated or has healed. Unrelieved acute pain, however, may lead to chronic pain.
What Is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain persists despite the fact that an injury has healed. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months, or years. Physical effects include tense muscles, limited mobility, a lack of energy, and changes in appetite. Emotional effects include depression, anger, anxiety, and fear of re-injury. Such a fear may hinder a person's ability to return to normal work or leisure activities. Common chronic pain complaints include:
Headache Low back pain Cancer pain Arthritis pain Neurogenic pain (pain resulting from damage to nerves) Psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of damage inside)
Chronic pain may have originated with an initial trauma/injury or infection, or there may be an ongoing cause of pain. However, some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage.
How Is Pain Treated?
Depending upon its severity, pain may be treated in a number of ways. Symptomatic options for the treatment of pain may include one or more of the following:
Drug treatments such as non-prescription medications like Aleve, Motrin and Tylenol or stronger medications such as morphine, codeine or anesthesia. Nerve blocks (the blocking of a group of nerves with local anesthetics) Alternative treatments such as acupuncture, relaxation and biofeedback Electrical stimulation Physical therapy Surgery Psychological counseling Behavior modification
Some pain medicines are more effective in fighting pain when they are combined with other methods of treatment. You may need to try various methods to maintain maximum pain relief.
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Neuroscience Center.
Treatment of Neuropathic Pain
Pain medication for pain relief ,Pain Medic
What is Pinched Nerve?What is the prognosis
Pain Caused By Burns,What Causes Burns?What
Symptoms of Neuropathic Pain Neuropathic pa
What Causes Nerve Pain ? What Causes of Neu
What is referred pain?How do you measure pa
What Is Chronic Pain?
What Is Pain?Pain Basics,Chronic Pain,How I