Pain is very personal and we each experience pain differently. Unlike a fever, where a thermometer can show if you have a high temperature, there is no objective way to measure how much pain you are feeling.
Simply put, pain is an uncomfortable feeling that tells you something could be wrong in your body. For example, if you twist your ankle, the sharp feeling of pain actually lets you know that you have done some damage to your body. The pain will keep you from putting weight on the injured ankle and will protect it from further harm. Pain also acts as your body’s warning system. It lets you know when there is something wrong and it stimulates you to do something about it. In general, we learn from painful experience to avoid danger, and not to repeat injurious behaviour.
Pain is commonly viewed as either acute or chronic. Acute pain is temporary. It is usually immediate and may last from a few seconds to several months. Some sources of acute pain are sport injuries, childbirth, postoperative pain, fractures, burn and medical procedures. Acute pain will usually go away once normal healing occurs.
Contrary to acute pain, chronic pain persists beyond the time of normal healing. The chronic pain could be the result of an acute injury that did not heal properly or it could be from a host of other reasons such as cancer, nerve damage or arthritis. In some cases, the pain may not make sense because it may travel from the original site of the injury to unrelated areas of the body. Some examples of chronic pain include fibromyalgia syndrome, migraine headache and lower back pain. Chronic pain commonly produces psychological effects, from feelings of anger, sadness, hopelessness and despair. It can alter personalities, disrupt sleep and interfere with work and personal relationships.
Check in for a follow-up blog that will tell you some options on how you can treat pain.
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