What Is Chronic Pain?

Pain is one of the body’s warning signals.  It’s an unpleasant feeling telling us that there is a problem that needs our attention.  For example, chest pain can be a signal that the heart muscle has a problem.  Abdominal pain can be a warning that the appendix is infected and needs to come out.  In these situations, the pain is acute and is serving an important purpose.  It’s saying, “GET HELP NOW!”

Usually, acute pain lasts less than a week or two.  It goes away when the underlying cause resolves itself or has been treated.   But what about pain that hangs around for months, years or even a lifetime?  This is known as chronic pain.

In general, pain is considered chronic when it continues for longer than three to six months.  For some people, chronic pain begins with an illness or an injury.  Yet, even when their injury heals or they recover from their illness, the pain fails to go away.   For others, there is an ongoing long-term cause of their chronic pain, such as back trouble or cancer. 

Chronic pain can be mild or unbearable; intermittent or nonstop;  a nuisance in someone’s life or totally incapacitating. And, because chronic pain is so persistent, it can interfere with every part of a person’s life.  For example, people in chronic pain may:

• Have trouble paying attention, concentrating and/or remembering information.
• Be exhausted—from the energy it takes to live with pain and because the pain keeps them from sleeping well. 
• Lose interest in hobbies.
• Stop socializing and keep to themselves more.
• Have to figure out new ways of doing simple things, like getting dressed or fixing their hair.
• Deal with financial worries, such as not being able to work anymore or trying to afford expensive pain-relief medications or treatments.
• Suffer from relationship issues because friends and family members don’t understand what they are going through.

How common is chronic pain?  Experts estimate that it affects up to 100 million Americans—and is the number one cause of adult disability in the United States.   Because of these startling statistics, there is a good chance that many of your clients—and some of your co-workers—are dealing with chronic pain.