What is Chronic Pain?
What is pain?
Pain is what occurs when receptor nerve cells send messages along nerve pathways to the spinal cord which directs the message to the brain when you are injured or have another type of problem. These pain receptors are found underneath the skin and in the organs.
Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain ranges from a small scratch to chest pain but are resolved at the latest in a few weeks after the underlying cause is treated. Chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than 3 months and in some cases the underlying cause is difficult to determine and the pain may persist with treatment. Chronic pain is one of the most significant health problems in the U.S. for adults, with some chronic pain conditions including:
- Lower back pain, which results in activity limitation and mobility difficulty in adults
- Arthritis pain, which is swelling and tenderness in the joints that worsen with age.
- Headaches, including migraine, cluster headaches, and tension headaches.
- Cancer pain, which is pain associated with tumor pressing on the nerves or pain due to cancer treatment
- Neuralgias and neuropathies that affect nerves in the body caused by damage to the central nervous system.
- Fibromyalgia, which is muscle pain throughout the body
What are the causes of chronic pain?
There are many causes of chronic pain, including illness or injury. It may also result from a known condition including arthritis or cancer. In some cases, pain from an injury or disease may persist even after healing from the original injury. In other cases, people suffer from chronic pain without any past injury or illness. This pain response is termed “psychogenic pain” by healthcare providers and may have a psychological cause such as stress, anxiety, and depression.
What does chronic pain feel like?
Chronic pain is similar to pain that is experienced with an acute condition, and includes aching, burning, stinging, throbbing, and stiffness.
How is chronic pain treated?
Healthcare professionals treat chronic pain by attempting to determine and treat the cause, but if the cause cannot be determined they turn to managing or treating the pain. A multidisciplinary approach is required for pain management to manage the pain.The pain management team can include neurologists, orthopedists, anesthesiologists, oncologists, physical therapists, social workers, and nurses.
What treatments are available?
Treatment will usually include medications, lifestyle changes, and various therapies.
Some medications include corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, muscle relaxers, antidepressants, sedatives, or topical ointments. Other treatments include epidural steroid injections, physical therapy, electrical stimulation, and surgery.
For example, an individual with chronic knee pain may visit an orthopedist for evaluation. The doctor may start off with pain medication and if pain persists, the doctor may opt to do a cortisone injection to relieve the pain. In some cases the doctor may decide other forms of therapy, including platelet-rich plasma therapy, which takes advantage of the body’s own healing properties and uses the body’s own platelets and plasma to inject into the pain site to regenerate damaged tissue.
What are the risk factors for chronic pain?
Risk factors can include:
- Genetics, some types of chronic pain may run in the family
- Obesity
- Age
- Prior injuries
- Stress
- Smoking
Sources:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4798-chronic-pain