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Educate yourself about pain and prescription pain killers.
The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain
as:
"An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with
actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such
damage."
Federal law states you must have a valid RX prescription from your
doctor to buy certain RX medications.
Explaining Medicine offers information designed to help you get the
facts on pain.
What is Pain?
Pain is a universal phenomenon, experienced by everyone
everywhere. It is an extremely complex thing, varying in experience,
degree, scope, nature, and clinical significance. Scientists,
clinicians, philosophers, writers, clergy, and many others have long
sought a better understanding of the phenomenon of pain. While we know
much about pain, major gaps in knowledge still exist.
Acute VS. Chronic Pain:
The two major types of pain are acute and chronic. Acute pain is
experienced recently and usually indicates injury, lasts a short while,
decreases during healing, can be associated with hyperactivity of the
autonomic nervous system, and is often accompanied by anxiety. This type
of pain typically accompanies acute injury, disease, or surgery. With
the idea of acute pain is the concept of episodic pain, which is acute
pain that recurs at different points in time. These episodes can recur
over an individuals lifetime or for a specific period. Episodic pain can
be extremely intense with indeterminable endings, such as the pain
caused by migraine headaches.
Chronic pain, as defined by the
International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) in 1986,
continues beyond the normal time of healing. The time frame can range
from one month to more than six months, but this definition cites three
months as the normal point of division between acute and chronic pain.
Some pain may be considered chronic, but is associated with medical
conditions such as arthritis or some types of cancer in which tissue
damage exists. Other chronic pain syndromes (low back pain or headaches)
may occur without tissue damage. Chronic pain can be accompanied by
adaptation of the autonomic nervous system, and often is associated with
such symptoms as sleep disturbance, constipation, depression, and
appetite changes. It is important to note, however, that 'chronicity'
may depend on the nature of the original injury or pathology so
flexibility is needed in the definition of chronic. Some people suffer
chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body
damage. Many chronic pain conditions affect older adults.
Treatment options:
Drugs, acupuncture, local electrical stimulation, brain stimulation, and
surgery, are some common treatments for chronic pain. Sometimes the
patient is given a placebo, which in some cases has resulted in a
reduction or elimination of pain. Relaxation and medication therapies,
biofeedback, psychotherapy, and behavior modification may also be used
to treat chronic pain. Many people who suffer from chronic pain can be
helped if they understand all the causes of pain and the many different
steps that can be taken to counteract the effects of chronic pain.
Scientists believe that advances in neuroscience will lead to better
treatments for chronic pain in the future.
Current pain research:
Clinical investigators have found that chronic pain patients often have
lower-than-normal levels of endorphins in their spinal fluid.
Investigations of acupuncture include wiring the needles to stimulate
nerve endings electrically (electroacupuncture), which some researchers
believe activates endorphin systems. Other experiments with acupuncture
have shown that there are higher levels of endorphins in cerebrospinal
fluid following acupuncture. Investigators are studying the effect of
stress on the experience of chronic pain. Chemists are synthesizing new
analgesics and discovering painkilling virtues in drugs not normally
prescribed for pain.
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