What is Pain?
Pain can be described as an unpleasant feeling people experience in response to the body’s means of protecting itself (Painaustralia, 2020). People feel pain in diverse ways and there are many factors that affect how pain is experienced. People may feel pain very differently despite experiencing the same causes. Pain can present as a dull ache through to a sharp stabbing feeling and may affect one part of the body or be widespread (NPS MedicineWise, 2021).
Pain is felt as a way of protecting the body from something that is or may cause damage (Agency for Clinical Innovation, 2021). Danger signals are sent from the injured site to the brain in an attempt to move the body from the harmful experience (Raffaeli & Arnaudo, 2017). These signals can be influenced by psychological factors, social factors or past experiences resulting in the different levels and duration of pain felt. It may be affected by sleep, exercise, general health, attitude or beliefs, mood and by the environment or acquaintances (Painaustralia, 2020).
There are 2 main types of pain, acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain is pain that is temporary and usually lasts days to sometimes weeks. It is a normal response to an injury or medical condition. There are several self-management strategies that may help with acute pain. These include resting the affected part of the body, application of heat or ice, the use of simple pain relief as directed, physical therapy or exercise (Agency for Clinical Innovation, 2021, Zeller et al., 2008).
Caution: If pain is severe or does not respond to simple measures, such as those described above, quickly (for example, within 48 hours of starting treatment with simple pain relief), seek medical attention from a healthcare professional.
Chronic pain is pain that lasts three or more months or longer than the amount of time for an injury, surgery or condition that is expected (NPS MedicineWise, 2021). It is sometimes called ‘persistent pain’. In some cases, there is no apparent cause for the pain. When pain becomes chronic it may no longer serve as a protective factor (Raffaeli & Arnaudo, 2017. It can be considered as the body having become overprotective. Many of the treatments of chronic pain are the same as for acute pain, however, there is importance in learning about pain. Research studies have shown when patients understand the pain they are experiencing it can improve their symptoms (NPS MedicineWise, 2021). While each treatment a person uses may provide a small amount of relief, treatments can be more effective when used in combination. It is important to speak with your pharmacist or other healthcare professional to help manage and better understand chronic pain.
If you are concerned about pain, please contact one of our friendly pharmacists or your GP.
For more information on pain management, please refer to the article “Managing pain”
REFERENCES
NPS MedicineWise. (2021). Chronic pain explained. Retrieved from https://www.nps.org.au/consumers/chronic-pain-explained
Agency for Clinical Innovation. (2021). Pain management network. Retrieved from https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/chronic-pain
Painaustralia. (2020). What is pain? Retrieved from https://www.painaustralia.org.au/about-pain/painaustralia-what-is-pain
Raffaeli, W., & Arnaudo, E. (2017). Pain as a disease: an overview. Journal of pain research, 10, 2003–2008. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S138864
Zeller, J., Burke, A. & Glass, R.(2008). Acute Pain Treatment. JAMA. 299(1), 128. https://doi:10.1001/jama.299.1.128
