The harshness of chronic pain exhausts the body, preventing its owner from performing its duties to the fullest. It disrupts sleep and changes the way people process their emotions by causing physiological changes in our brains. But the experience of long-term pain is complex and varies between individuals. This makes it difficult to explain and measure, let alone diagnose and deal with.
In a large study of nearly 22,000 people who visited severe pain management clinics at the University of Pittsburgh, perioperative surgeon Benedict Alter and his colleagues developed a new method to try to help with this problem.
"We found that how a patient reports the physical distribution of their chronic pain influences nearly all aspects of their pain experience, including what happens three months later," the team wrote in their paper, according to Science Alert.
Using computer cluster analysis of patient body pain maps and pain ratings, the researchers discovered that patients fall into 9 chronic pain groups.
1- Lower back pain .
2- Abdominal pain.
3- Lower back pain extending to the thighs.
4- Upper and lower back pain.
5- Neck and shoulder pain.
6- Lower back pain extending to below the knee.
7-Neck, shoulders and lower back pain.
8- Mild pain around the entire body .
9- Severe pain all over the body.
Chronic pain is different from usual pain.
In chronic pain, the body continues to send pain signals to the brain , even after the injury has healed.
This pain can last from several weeks to years. Chronic pain can limit the ability to move and reduce flexibility, strength and endurance, and thus the completion of daily tasks and activities.
How do you treat chronic pain?
The main goal of treatment is to reduce pain and promote movement in order to return to daily activities without discomfort.
The intensity and frequency of chronic pain can vary between individuals. Therefore, doctors create pain management plans that are specific to each person.
A chronic pain management plan depends on your symptoms and any underlying health conditions. Medical treatments, lifestyle therapies, or a combination of these may be used to control chronic pain.
Chronic pain medications
Several types of medications are available to help treat chronic pain. Here are some examples:
Over-the-counter pain relievers, including acetaminophen (Tylenol) or NSAIDs such as aspirin (Bufferin) or ibuprofen (Advil).
Opioid pain relievers, including morphine (MS Contin), codeine, and hydrocodone (Tussigon).
Auxiliary analgesics, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants. Anticonvulsants or anticonvulsants are a variety of medications used to treat epileptic seizures .
Medical procedures for chronic pain
Some medical procedures also provide relief from chronic pain. We list them as stated on the Healthline website :
Electrical stimulation, which relieves pain by sending mild electric shocks to the muscles of a nerve block, an injection that blocks the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain .
Acupuncture, which involves lightly pricking the skin with needles to relieve pain.
Surgery, which corrects improperly healing injuries that may be contributing to pain.
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