The Difference Between Chronic and Acute Pain
Chronic pain is pain that last a long time.
Pain is one of the most common complaints people go to the healthcare provider with.
In the United States alone, more than 51 million people are estimated to live with chronic pain.
yodiyim / istock
Pain that lasts a long time, usually three months or more, qualifies as chronic pain.
Some types of chronic pain can go away with the right diagnosis and treatment.
People with chronic pain live in ways to lesson symptoms.
Treatment may involve medications, physical therapy,acupuncture, and more.
It explains different types of pain, pain triggers, and symptoms of chronic pain.
This article also discusses how chronic pain is treated and diagnosed and how to deal with chronic pain.
When Acute Pain Becomes Chronic
Chronic pain is very different from acute pain.
Acute pain usually goes away when the underlying cause is gone.
Before it becomes chronic, it turns into subacute pain.
Subacute pain is pain that lasts for a few weeks or months.
Pain qualifies as chronic when it lasts for three months or more.
Usually, this is because of an illness.
Scores of conditions can cause chronic pain, either in specific areas or body-wide.
That gives you a far better chance of finding effective treatments and management strategies.
Types of Chronic Pain
Not all pain feels the same.
Chronic pain also varies by cause.
A healthcare provider may be able to tell a lot from how you describe your pain.
For example,shooting electrical painmost likely comes from a nerve.
Hyperalgesiais pain amplificationbasically turning up the volume of pain.
The result is that you experience far more pain than you normally would.
The pain from them, however, is real and often debilitating.
Pain Triggers
Chronic pain is sometimes constant, but it may not be.
Your pain triggers can also tell a healthcare provider a lot about what’s going on in your body.
In some cases, it can even point toward specificpain management strategies.
These often include:
Not everyone with chronic pain will experience all of these symptoms.
Also, some chronic-pain conditions include many additional symptoms, as well.
If they ask “where” and you say “everywhere,” the process will go differently.
Expect blood tests to look forsigns of inflammationor other disease markers.
Your healthcare provider may also order scans as well, depending on your symptoms and medical history.
The more complicated your pain is, the more it may help to keep a pain journal.
Don’t hand it to the healthcare provider and expect your provider to pore through it for you.
Treating Chronic Pain
Treatments for chronic paincan vary greatly depending on your diagnosis.
These can include:
How Do You Deal With Chronic Pain?
Living with chronic pain is hard.
At times, you may feel hopeless or desperate for relief.
With proper diagnosis and treatment, some chronic pain goes away over time.
Chronic pain can develop from acute pain, such as pain after an injury or surgery.
However, it can also be due to medical conditions such as arthritis and cancer.
People with chronic pain often live with related symptoms.
These include fatigue, anxiety, poor sleep, and depression.
See a healthcare provider if you’re dealing with pain that’s not going away.
Some types of chronic pain may even disappear with treatment over time.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chronic pain among adults United States, 20192021.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Chronic pain.
Crofford LJ.Psychological aspects of chronic musculoskeletal pain.Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol.
2016;71(11):1347-1362. doi:10.1111/anae.13602
