There are two main types of pain: acute and chronic. Acute pain is directly related to the underlying injury or illness that caused it. Once this injury or illness has been resolved, the acute pain should also disappear. Show Chronic pain, however, persists long after its apparent cause has been remedied. Conditions like neuralgia and fibromyalgia do not appear to be linked to underlying health issues; instead, they seem to be independent maladies. Although there are many chronic pain conditions like low back pain and arthritis that do have identifiable causes, many others remain mysterious in their nature. For all intents and purposes, in these mysterious chronic pain conditions, it appears that the nervous system has simply not turned on pain signaling indefinitely despite the resolution of the root issue. What Is Chronic Pain?Chronic pain is defined as any pain that continues for longer than 6 months. There may be an initiating cause like a broken bone, but that doesn’t have to be in every case. Six months is the generally accepted criteria for a chronic pain condition (some health experts may say pain lasting more than 3 months) because the average healing time for most injuries is 3 months and 6 months allows for some residual healing and related pain. The chronic pain may be always present or may appear in episodes of various length. The severity of the symptoms may also change over time. The pain may be so intense that it disrupts normal activities like work, social life, and sleep. Another key aspect of chronic pain is that it no longer responds to treatment of the underlying health issue. In rare cases, treatments of the initial health issue may resolve the pain symptoms, but in most chronic pain cases, the pain will continue. More than 11 percent of the U.S. population, or 25 million people, suffered from daily bouts of pain in the last 3 months, according to the National Health Interview Survey. Nearly 40 million Americans suffer from severe pain that may be ongoing or intermittent. Among the most common forms of chronic pain are
How Chronic Pain Differs from Acute PainObviously, the most apparent difference between acute and chronic pain is that acute pain tends to last for periods shorter than 6 months. On the other hand, chronic pain persists for months or years in the form of continuous or intermittent pain. Although not all forms of chronic pain are mysterious in nature, most chronic pain cases cannot ascribe a specific cause to the pain. Without a specific cause, medical practitioners have an almost impossible task of treating only the symptoms rather than the underlying health issue. Also, there is an emotional component to chronic pain that is normally absent in cases of acute pain. Over time, the stress of anticipating another bout of pain produces changes in brain chemistry. This manifests often as emotional comorbidities like anxiety and depression. These mental health illnesses use many of the same neurochemical mechanisms as long-term pain. This means that, if anxiety and depression are left untreated, it could reinforce and amplify pain symptoms. Acute pain serves an important biological purpose—it alerts us when our bodies become damaged. Conversely, chronic pain seems to serve no biological purpose; instead, it is a dysfunction of the nervous system. Treating Chronic PainUnlike acute pain conditions in which the treatment is directed at the underlying health issue, chronic pain therapies often focus on mitigating the pain symptoms. While this may be limited to a single therapy in rare cases, most health experts recommend a multi-disciplinary approach that is much more holistic than in acute pain care.
Article written by: Dr. Robert Moghim – CEO/Founder Colorado Pain Care M.D. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the personal views of Robert Moghim, M.D. and do not necessarily represent and are not intended to represent the views of the company or its employees. The information contained in this article does not constitute medical advice, nor does reading or accessing this information create a patient-provider relationship. Comments that you post will be shared with all visitors to this page. The comment feature is not governed by HIPAA, and you should not post any of your private health information. Colorado Pain Care treats each patient with the same care we would want for our own family. Founded on the promise of H.O.P.E., we provide honest, objective, personalized, and empathetic care from the area’s top physicians and providers. What is the difference between chronic pain and chronic pain syndrome?Chronic pain causes stressful problems, which, in turn, cause stress that makes the pain worse. This combination of chronic pain and the resultant problems that make pain worse is what we call a chronic pain syndrome.
What causes acute and chronic pain?Acute pain happens when you get hurt, such as experiencing a simple cut to your skin or a broken bone. It doesn't last long, and it goes away after your body heals from whatever caused the pain. In contrast, chronic pain continues long after you recover from an injury or illness.
Are acute pain and chronic pain treated differently?The therapy of acute pain is aimed at treating the underlying cause and interrupting the nociceptive signals. The therapy of chronic pain must rely on a multidisciplinary approach and should involve more than one therapeutic modality.
What is acute pain mean?(uh-KYOOT payn) Pain that comes on quickly, can be severe, but lasts a relatively short time.
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