What is Pain?

What is pain?

            Pain can have different meanings to different people. In Medicine, pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.  Pain is always subjective and the experience is different for every individual.

            Acute pain begins suddenly and is usually sharp in quality. It serves as a warning of disease or a threat to the body, for example placing your hand on a hot stove.  Other examples of acute pain are surgical pain, laceration, broken bones etc.  Acute pain resolves over time as the underlying injury heals, usually not lasting more than 6 months.  Acute pain may lead to chronic pain. 

            Chronic pain is pain that persists despite the initial injury healing or persistent disease that leads to ongoing pain.  Pain signals may remain active or become hyperactive for weeks, months, or years.  Common causes of chronic pain are arthritis, back pain, headaches, cancer related pain, neuropathic pain (damaged nerves) and psychogenic pain.  In some cases, acute pain can become chronic pain if it lasts three months or more. For example, if surgical pain isn’t treated correctly, the nerves can become hypersensitive and can become chronic pain. 

Some of the physical effects include decrease mobility, weight changes, lack of energy, and / or sleep disturbances.  Chronic pain may also lead to depression, anger, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and / or fear of activity due to pain. 

Chronic pain affects more than 100 million American adults, according to the Institute of Medicine. It can take over your life, preventing you from getting good sleep, eating properly, being active and fully enjoying activities and time with your family. Thankfully, help is available.

Why See a Pain Management Specialist?

Pain treatment is complex and can cause more harm than good if it is not provided by a pain medicine specialist. Physician anesthesiologists complete four years of medical school, four years of training in anesthesiology and pain medicine, and an additional year of training to become experts in treating chronic pain. This expertise is essential since the spine and nerves that register pain are delicate and everyone’s anatomy and pain tolerance is different. In addition, pain medications are strong and can be harmful if not administered by a physician with appropriate training……Read More About Pain Management Specialty

What is addiction, physical dependence, and tolerance?

            Addiction is a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving.

            Physical dependence is a state of adaptation that is manifested by a drug class specific withdrawal syndrome that can be produced by abrupt cessation, rapid dose reduction, decreasing blood level of the drug, and/or administration of an antagonist.

            Tolerance is a state of adaptation in which exposure to a drug induces changes that result in a diminution of one or more of the drug’s effects over time.

The above are medical definitions.  It is important to work with your physician and follow their instructions with all of your medications.  If you ever have a concern about any of your medications, please ask your physician.