What is chronic pain?
Chronic pain is pain that no longer serves a biological function, that is, it does not provide a reason for being there. For example, you feel pain when you touch a hot iron with your hand because your “biological function” or thought processes in the brain, tell you to remove it, to prevent burning your hand. Chronic pain has no purpose, in that doing something about it will prevent further bodily injury, as in the case with the iron, which prevented the burn. Therefore, chronic pain does not respond to treatments which are not specific to the pain, such as over-the-counter drugs. Many times, the pain has bothered the sufferer for a long time.
A. Chronic pain is pain that can persist for weeks, months, even years. It can be the result of a specific injury (e.g. sprained back) or an ongoing disorder (e.g. arthritis, cancer, shingles). Chronic pain may also occur for no apparent cause. It can hurt all the time or occur all the time. Chronic pain often limits everyday function and may lead to additional stressors such as sleep problems, medication side effects, reduced capacity for performing work, financial hardship, and strain on significant relationships. In addition, experiencing chronic pain and its accompanying stressors may greatly affect a person’s quality of life.
