Chronic Pain

What is Chronic Pain?

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, when you hurt your body, it responds in the form of pain. There are two types: chronic and acute. Now, when you keep experiencing pain is when the condition becomes chronic. It is said that about twenty-five percent of people suffering from Chronic Pain worldwide eventually will get a medical condition known as chronic pain syndrome or CPS. In addition, CPS is a condition that leads an individual into the world of anxiety and depression, thereby disrupting a human’s daily life. Therefore, to enable you to understand everything about Chronic Pain, here is presenting to you this article.

What is The Pathophysiology of Chronic Pain?

On constant activation, pain signals’ transmission reaches the dorsal horn (posterior grey column in the spinal cord), leading to a rise in intensity. Triggering stimulation of the low threshold mechanoreceptive A beta fibres normally generate mild sensations. Three different processes in the spinal cord significantly change the sensory processing in the somatosensory system. These include the following:

1.   Decrease in inhibition
2.   Increase in excitement
3.   Structural reorganisation

Now, when all these activities within the spinal cord either work independently or come together, they produce a wide range of chronic pain, either inflammatory or neuropathic, within an individual. 

What are The Causative Factors of Chronic Pain?

The exact cause of Chronic Pain is not known, yet it is often seen to be triggered by an injury or painful medical conditions such as:

1. Fibromyalgia
2. Back Pain
3. Nerve damage
4. Lyme disease
5. Cancer
6. Endometriosis
7. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
8. Bones broken
9. Ulceration or Acid Reflux

Do You Know The Sign and Symptoms of Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain tends to have an impact on your social as well as emotional and physical life. Nevertheless, a few signs and symptoms of this type of system are as follows:

1. Poor quality sleep
2. Guilty feeling
3. Loss of interest in sex
4. Suicidal tendencies
5. Marital problems
6. Job loss
7. The feeling of being tired
8. Depression
9. Anxiety
10. Irritability
11. Alcohol and drug abuse

What is The Diagnosis of Chronic Pain?

The diagnosis of chronic pain will generally begin with your doctor asking about your illness or injuries that may have triggered the pain. Some questions you may have to answer your answer are:

In which part of your body do you experience Chronic Pain?

When did you start feeling the Chronic Pain?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your Chronic Pain?

Have you got the treatment that helped you treat the pain?

What seems to make your chronic pain worse?

Your doctor shall also ask you to get any of the Imaging Tests mentioned below to check for the cause of the pain. They are:

1. X-Ray: Creation of Images of body structure using low-dose radiation
2. Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI: Use magnetic fields and waves to create images inside your body.
3. Computed Tomography or CT scan: A type of X-Ray which is very powerful and highlights the internal parts of your body with precision.

Are You Aware of The Treatment Involved in Chronic Pain?

It depends on the source of the pain. Your doctor shall draw up a treatment plan for you. Also, these could include the following:

1. Occupational therapy
2. Spinal Cord stimulation
3. Nerve blocks
4. Biofeedback’s
5. Relaxation technique
6. Use of pain medications such as antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs

Conclusion:

Chronic pain is a type that can keep occurring to you intensely and persistently every day. Therefore, it can hurt your daily life if the pain does not stop.

Under such circumstances, then, you need to contact your general physician immediately to keep away Chronic Pain at bay.