What is pain management?
Everyone feels some kind of pain from time to time. Pain is the most common symptom of potentially thousands of injuries, diseases, disorders and conditions you can experience in your lifetime. It can also result from treatments for conditions and diseases. Pain can last a short time and go away when you heal (acute pain). Or it can also last for months or years (chronic pain).
Pain management specialists help you regulate pain with medications, procedures, exercises and therapy. To reduce or relieve pain, your provider may recommend one approach or a combination of several. You may receive care in a pain clinic, provider’s office or hospital.
Depending on the cause and type of pain, it may not be possible to find total relief, and the pain may not get better right away. Your provider will work with you to adjust your pain management plan so you can feel better.
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Who needs pain management?
Anyone with pain can benefit from a pain management plan. A comprehensive plan can help people manage pain that lasts a few days (such as after an injury or surgery). It can also help people who have long-term pain from disease or chronic health conditions.
Pain is the main symptom of a wide range of injuries, infections and diseases. Cancer pain can result from nearly every type of cancer. One of the first signs of a heart attack is often chest pain that may move to your arms, back or jaw. Some of the most common conditions that cause pain include:
- Arthritis and muscle and joint injuries: Several types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis and gout, cause severe pain in the joints. Orthopedic injuries (such as frozen shoulder) limit mobility and lead to pain and stiffness.
- Autoimmune disorders: Lupus, Crohn’s disease and other autoimmune disorders cause your immune system to attack the body.
- Back injuries: Herniated disks, sciatica and other back problems are common causes of pain and limited mobility.
- Chronic pain disorders: There are several disorders that can lead to widespread pain all over your body. These include fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and central pain syndrome.
- Endometriosis: This painful condition causes the lining of the uterus to grow outside of the uterine walls. Endometriosis causes abdominal pain and irregular periods.
- Facial pain: Several conditions can cause pain in your face, including trigeminal neuralgia (TN), an abscessed tooth and other dental problems.
- Headaches: Migraine headaches and cluster headaches cause pain in the head and neck.
- Kidney stones and urinary tract problems: Kidney stones can cause severe pain when they pass through your body with urine (pee). Interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome) causes pelvic pain and pressure.
- Nerve damage (neuropathy): Damaged nerves can lead to pain, stinging and tingling. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common type of neuropathy.
What are the types of pain?
Some types of pain result from a disease or accident. Other pain may linger or come back after treatment. Sometimes, pain results from treatments (such as pain after surgery). Some pain has no known cause. The types of pain include:
- Acute: This type of pain is sharp and often results from an injury. Acute pain gets better when providers treat the injury or disease that’s causing the pain. This type of pain can result from a bone fracture, muscle spasms, a burn or other kind of accident. Some illnesses and disorders, such as appendicitis and shingles, cause acute pain.
- Chronic: Providers call pain that lasts more than six months chronic pain. This type of pain can result from an untreated injury or disease. It can also result from conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia or nerve damage (neuropathy). Low back pain is another type of chronic pain.
- Nociceptive: Nerve cell endings (nociceptors) send pain signals to your brain when you have an injury. Nociceptive pain happens when you break a bone, bump your head or pull a muscle. The pain can be sudden and short-lived or long-lasting. It can affect your internal organs (visceral pain) or your musculoskeletal system (somatic pain).
- Neuropathic: Problems with the nervous system cause neuropathic pain (nerve pain). It happens when nerves fire pain signals to the brain by mistake, even when they aren’t damaged. Diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS) and HIV commonly cause this type of pain.
FAQs
Pain management strategies
pain medicines. physical therapies (such as heat or cold packs, massage, hydrotherapy and exercise) psychological therapies (such as cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation techniques and meditation) mind and body techniques (such as acupuncture)
What are the 5 A's of chronic pain? ›
A well-known comprehensive approach to the management of persistent pain is the Five A's of Pain Management: analgesia, activities of daily living, adverse effects, affect, and aberrant drug-related behaviors.
How do you deal with endless pain? ›
Focus on Pain-Free Areas
Think about it — if you're hands are pain-free that can offer an additional source to draw, write, color, take pictures, etc. Don't limit yourself to what you can't do, but rather, allow yourself to focus on what you can do.
How do you get over constant pain? ›
Tips on coping with chronic pain
Eating well, getting plenty of sleep and engaging in approved physical activity are all positive ways for you to handle your stress and pain. Talk to yourself constructively. Positive thinking is a powerful tool.
What not to say to your pain management doctor? ›
It is beneficial to avoid negative statements such as downplaying pain, exaggerating pain levels, requesting specific medications, and challenging their expertise.
- Downplaying Your Pain. ...
- Exaggerating Pain Levels. ...
- Requesting Specific Medications. ...
- Challenging Their Expertise. ...
- Rejecting Non-Pharmacological Options:
Trigeminal neuralgia
It is one of the most painful conditions known. It causes extreme, sporadic and sudden burning pain or electric shock sensation in the face, including the eyes, lips, scalp, nose, upper jaw, forehead, and lower jaw.
What are the new guidelines for prescribing opioids? ›
The 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline reiterates that clinicians should prescribe opioids at the lowest effective dose for the expected duration of pain warranting opioid use. The guideline also endorses patient-centered approaches to the initiation or taper of opioids.
What are the 4 P's of chronic pain? ›
For management, we can also use '4Ps' (physical, psychological, pharmacological and procedural) and for review there are the '6As' (activities, analgesia, adverse effects, aberrance behaviours, affects and adequate documentation).
What are the 3 P's of pain? ›
The most effective pain management for all types of pain uses psychological, physical and pharmacological strategies. This is known as the "3 Ps" approach. When these strategies are used together, they optimize pain relief.
What is constant pain that never goes away over time called? ›
Chronic pain is pain that is ongoing and usually lasts longer than six months. This type of pain can continue even after the injury or illness that caused it has healed or gone away. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months or years.
The main medicines recommended for neuropathic pain include:
- amitriptyline – also used for treatment of headaches and depression.
- duloxetine – also used for treatment of bladder problems and depression.
- pregabalin and gabapentin – also used to treat epilepsy, headaches or anxiety.
Describe the history of the pain, the location, how long it's been hurting and what factors seem to aggravate it, or help it get better, suggests Maixner. Share other treatments you've sought, such as acupuncture, massage and certain medications, he says.
What is flippin pain? ›
Flippin' Pain is a public health campaign, with a clear goal: To change the way people think about, talk about and treat persistent pain.
What painkillers would a doctor prescribe for back pain? ›
Opioids. If your back pain becomes more severe, you may benefit from a stronger prescription drug like an opioid. Opioids, such as oxycodone (OxyContin) and an acetaminophen/ hydrocodone combination (Vicodin), interact with receptors on nerve cells in the body and brain to reduce pain.
Does chronic pain ever stop? ›
Chronic pain may be "on" and "off" or continuous. It may affect people to the point that they can't work, eat properly, take part in physical activity, or enjoy life. Chronic pain is a major medical condition that can and should be treated.
Should I go to ER for chronic pain? ›
If your chronic pain is becoming more acute pain and hard to manage, talk to your doctor to discuss an alternative plan of care or medications to improve your quality of life. If it is a true medical emergency you are having, call 911 or have someone take you to the nearest ER.
What pain level is considered severe? ›
There are many different kinds of pain scales, but a common one is a numerical scale from 0 to 10. Here, 0 means you have no pain; one to three means mild pain; four to seven is considered moderate pain; eight and above is severe pain.
Why is chronic pain so painful? ›
It's believed that chronic pain develops after nerves become damaged. The nerve damage makes pain more intense and long lasting.
Is chronic pain an emergency? ›
Often people with chronic pain visit the emergency room for pain management solutions, which is better served at the Urgent Care. Trust your body, and if you are suffering a new type of pain, or a debilitating pain, it could be an emergency.
