Perception of Pain

Pain is a sensation that hurts. It may be steady or throbbing, aching, or stabbing.   Most pain is caused by damage to nerves or tissues (injury, inflammation, arthritis, joint and muscle problems, etc.)   Stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma can affect a person's pain. No two people are the same and only the person who is experiencing the pain can describe it.

Acute pain is severe (broken bone, infected tooth, surgery, injury, or the like) and lasts for a relatively short time. When there is acute pain, body tissue has been injured in some way and the pain will disappear when the injury heals. Medication may help during this time.

Chronic pain starts as acute pain but lasts beyond the normal time for healing and may interfere with daily activities. Chronic pain may cause decreased physical activity, loss of sleep or sleep disturbance, anxiety, and emotional responses.

A person can have acute and chronic pain at the same time, such as chronic low back pain along with acute pain due to ankle surgery. Management of pain requires identification of the causes of the specific pain to provide the right treatment