According to IASP, pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with or described in terms of a present or potential injury.
When do we stop talking about acute pain and start talking about chronic pain?
Acute pain represents pain that usually lasts no longer than the time it takes for the causative injury to resolve. This pain, which has an important physiological function in maintaining the homeostasis of the organism, is initiated by nociceptive stimulation of the somatic or visceral tissue and is maintained by the release of algogenic substances.
Thus, we speak of chronic pain when its duration is longer than an interval of three to six months, and is maintained, even though the cause that produced it has disappeared, or even when it no longer fulfills its biological-defensive function. Compared to acute pain, chronic pain does not seem to provide any clear biological service.
Treatment of chronic pain: what does it consist of?
Pain should always be approached from a global point of view, taking into account somatic pain, the anxiety it generates in the patient, and the limitations it causes at a social and functional level.
We will establish a therapeutic strategy that will go from the simplest to the most complex and invasive procedures. Initially, an exhaustive clinical history of the patient must be taken, which is the basis for the whole process to be carried out. Depending on the needs detected, pharmacological treatments will be chosen, which may be combined with infiltrative therapies and other procedures such as intravenous infusions of drugs, radiofrequency, intrathecal infusion and neuromodulation.
Is it possible to put an end to chronic pain?
Yes, as long as we can identify the cause and treat it early. However, there are some types of pain that, due to their characteristics, will require a multidisciplinary and staggered approach depending on the response to different therapies, being these cases more refractory to treatment.
For more information on chronic pain, consult a specialist in Pain Unit.