What is Chronic Pain And How Is It Treated?

Chronic pain can last longer than six months and is more widespread among people than cancer, heart disease, diabetes or stroke. Chronic pain endures and can actually cause damage to the body, even causing disability. It can affect anyone, regardless of their age, gender or race.

Acute pain is usually caused by an injury, trauma or is the result of surgery. It generally doesn’t last for more than a month. Subacute pain is acute pain that goes on for longer, for up to three months, but the expectation is that the pain will resolve once the pain-causing injury, trauma or surgery is fully healed.

According to the National Pain Advocacy Center, one in six people lives with pain every day, and 40 million experience severe pain, with 20 million experiencing pain that affects their life activities and their work.

People suffering from chronic pain are often at a higher risk of suffering from anxiety or depression, making it a mental health issue, too.

Treating Chronic Pain

It’s important to talk with your healthcare provider to determine whether your chronic pain is related to an undiagnosed health issue. The goal in treating chronic pain is not to eliminate the pain but to manage it to the extent that the person experiencing the pain can improve the quality of their life.

Chronic pain treatments can include a combination of:

• Anti-inflammatories and other pain non-opioid medications
• Physical therapy or other kinds of therapeutic exercise, such as yoga or range-of-motion movements
• Behavioral health therapy or mindfulness exercises to help process the pain
• Intervention, which could include surgery
• Alternative therapies, such as acupuncture or massage

Talk to your healthcare provider to determine whether these treatments might address your chronic pain. When meeting with your provider, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends discussing the following:

• Your health history, including your mental health
• Any medications you take
• Your physical and psychological home and work environment
• How pain has impacted your functionality, activity level and quality of life
• What nonopioid medication and treatment options you prefer

For those who want to delve deeper into the topic of pain, NPR’s special series, “Pain Reexamined” is chock full of stories about new understandings related to pain and pain management.