UNDERSTANDING PAIN

What is Pain?

We have all experienced pain at some point in time – when burned, after stubbing a toe, or a shooting pain after lifting something heavy. Interestingly, although we can all claim to have experienced this unpleasant sensation, no two people experience pain in exactly the same way. ¹ Pain can be defined simply as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that may or may not be accompanied by injury or damage. ¹ 

Where Does Pain Come From?

The brain and spinal cord make up the nervous system. Both play an important role in how we experience pain. When you stub your toe, messages are sent from your toe to the brain through the spinal cord. After interpreting these messages, the brain transmits signals to your toe which affect the way you experience the pain. The interpretation of pain differs from person to person, meaning no two people experience pain the exact same way.^1,2

Talking To A Healthcare Professional About Pain

Pain can have a tremendous impact on many different aspects of your life. Not surprisingly, the goals of pain management are heavily focused on not only reducing pain but also on improving function, and enabling those who suffer from working, or perform other daily activities.¹ There are several different healthcare professionals that may be involved in helping you manage your pain. There are nurses that specialize in pain management, as well as physicians, physiotherapists, osteopaths, occupational therapists, and psychologists. Regardless of which type of practitioner or practitioners you see, their goal will be the same to reduce your pain and improve your quality of life.³

Do not ignore your pain³

There is an old adage that we have all heard numerous times and have likely even used on occasion – “No pain, no gain.” This is simply not true. As mentioned, pain, particularly acute pain, is a warning signal that something is not quite right. Either damage or injury has occurred or it may potentially occur. Pain is something that can and should be treated.¹

Keep track of your pain⁸

You may want to keep a diary of some sort to track your pain over time. This information will help you determine if it is lessening, getting worse, or staying the same. Sharing this information with your doctor can help him or her determine how to best manage your pain.³

Acute Vs Chronic Pain

It is generally recognized that pain can be considered either acute or chronic.⁴ Acute pain is the type of pain that comes on suddenly, in response to an injury. Acute pain is the most common type of pain people experience. Fortunately, it is self-limiting in that it usually decreases in severity over time and the pain itself will eventually go away when the injury heals.^{4, 5} Some common causes of acute pain include: ^6,7

• Surgery
• Work-related injury
• Trauma such as an accident, a broken bone, a sprain, or a cut
• Acute illness such as appendicitis
• Medical procedure such as immunization or endoscopy

Acute pain does serve a very important purpose; it warns us that damage may have or has occurred.^4,5 Chronic pain persists over a longer period of time (3 months or more)⁵. Chronic pain is a very common condition affecting anywhere from 2% to 40% of the adult population. At any given point in time, it is estimated that approximately 15% of adults will be suffering from chronic pain.⁸ Chronic pain may be:⁷

1. Neuropathic, meaning it affects the nerves
2. The result of an injury
3. Due to a malignant condition such as cancer
4. Due to a non-life threatening condition such as fibromyalgia or arthritis

Unlike acute pain, chronic pain is a disease in and of itself. This means the condition – chronic pain – is the cause of the pain.^4,5

1< National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Pain: Hope through research. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm#175033084, accessed June 8, 2012.
2 Canadian Pain Coalition. Is there a connection between pain, stress and depression? What can I do myself to lower stress? http://www.canadianpaincoalition.ca/index.php/en/help-centre/conquering-pain/stress-pain, accessed June 8, 2012.
3. Canadian Pain Coalition. How should I talk to healthcare professionals about my pain? http://www.canadianpaincoalition.ca/index.php/en/help-centre/conquering-pain/talk-to-healthcare-professionals, accessed June 8, 2012.
4. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Pain: Hope through research. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm#175033084, accessed June 8, 2012. 5. Canadian Pain Coalition. Is all pain the same? http://www.canadianpaincoalition.ca/index.php/en/help-centre/conquering-pain/all-pain-the-same, accessed June 8, 2012.
6. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care, and Education Board on Health Sciences Policy. Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13172, accessed July 10, 2012.
7. American Pain Society. Education. Enduring material. Pain: Current Understanding of Assessment, Management, and Treatments. http://www.ampainsoc.org/education/enduring/downloads/npc/npc.pdf, accessed July 10, 2012.
8. Manchikanti L, Singh V, Datta S, et al. Comprehensive review of epidemiology, scope, and impact of spinal pain. Pain Physician 2009; 12:E35-E70.

What is Pain?

We have all experienced pain at some point in time – when burned; after stubbing a toe; or a shooting pain after lifting something heavy. Interestingly, although we can all claim to have experienced this unpleasant sensation, no two people experience pain in exactly the same way. ¹

Pain can be defined simply as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that may or may not be accompanied by injury or damage. ¹

Where Does Pain Come From?

The brain and spinal cord make up what is known as the nervous system. Both play an important role in how we experience pain.

When you stub your toe, messages are sent from your toe to your spinal cord and up to your brain. The brain then interprets these messages then transmits signals to your toe that affect the way you experience the pain. The way the brain interprets the messages coming in and how it transmits the signals going out differ from one person to the next.

This is why no two people experience pain in the exact same way.^1,2

Talking To A Healthcare Professional About Pain

Pain can have a tremendous impact on many different aspects of your life. Not surprisingly, the goals of pain management are heavily focused on not only reducing pain but also on improving function, and enabling those who suffer from working, or perform other daily activities.¹

There are several different healthcare professionals that may be involved in helping you manage your pain.

There are nurses that specialize in pain management, as well as physicians, physiotherapists, osteopaths, occupational therapists, and psychologists.

Regardless of which type of practitioner or practitioners you see, their goal will be the same to reduce your pain and improve your quality of life.³

Do not ignore your pain³

There is an old adage that we have all heard numerous times and have likely even used on occasion – “No pain, no gain.” This is simply not true.

As mentioned, pain, particularly acute pain, is a warning signal that something is not quite right.

Either damage or injury has occurred or it may potentially occur. Pain is something that can and should be treated.¹

Keep track of your pain⁸

You may want to keep a diary of some sort to track your pain over time. This information will help you determine if it is lessening, getting worse, or staying the same.

Sharing this information with your doctor can help him or her determine how to best manage your pain.³

Acute Vs Chronic Pain

It is generally recognized that pain can be considered either acute or chronic.⁴

Acute pain is the type of pain that comes on suddenly, in response to an injury.

Acute pain is the most common type of pain people experience. Fortunately, it is self-limiting in that it usually decreases in severity over time and the pain itself will eventually go away when the injury heals.^{4, 5}

Some common causes of acute pain include: ^6,7

• Surgery
• Work-related injury
• Trauma such as an accident, a broken bone, a sprain, or a cut
• Acute illness such as appendicitis
• Medical procedure such as immunization or endoscopy

Acute pain does serve a very important purpose; it warns us that damage may have or has occurred.^4,5

Chronic pain persists over a longer period of time (3 months or more)⁵.

Chronic pain is a very common condition affecting anywhere from 2% to 40% of the adult population. At any given point in time, it is estimated that approximately 15% of adults will be suffering from chronic pain.⁸

Chronic pain may be:⁷

1. Neuropathic, meaning it affects the nerves
2. The result of an injury
3. Due to a malignant condition such as cancer
4. Due to a non-life threatening condition such as fibromyalgia or arthritis

Unlike acute pain, chronic pain is a disease in and of itself. This means the condition – chronic pain – is the cause of the pain.^4,5

1< National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Pain: Hope through research. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm#175033084, accessed June 8, 2012.
2 Canadian Pain Coalition. Is there a connection between pain, stress and depression? What can I do myself to lower stress? http://www.canadianpaincoalition.ca/index.php/en/help-centre/conquering-pain/stress-pain, accessed June 8, 2012.
3. Canadian Pain Coalition. How should I talk to healthcare professionals about my pain? http://www.canadianpaincoalition.ca/index.php/en/help-centre/conquering-pain/talk-to-healthcare-professionals, accessed June 8, 2012.
4. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Pain: Hope through research. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm#175033084, accessed June 8, 2012. 5. Canadian Pain Coalition. Is all pain the same? http://www.canadianpaincoalition.ca/index.php/en/help-centre/conquering-pain/all-pain-the-same, accessed June 8, 2012.
6. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care, and Education Board on Health Sciences Policy. Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13172, accessed July 10, 2012.
7. American Pain Society. Education. Enduring material. Pain: Current Understanding of Assessment, Management, and Treatments. http://www.ampainsoc.org/education/enduring/downloads/npc/npc.pdf, accessed July 10, 2012.
8. Manchikanti L, Singh V, Datta S, et al. Comprehensive review of epidemiology, scope, and impact of spinal pain. Pain Physician 2009; 12:E35-E70.