What is Chronic Pain?
While acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to
alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself, chronic pain
is different. Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous
system for weeks, months, even years. There may have been an initial mishap --
sprained back, serious infection, or there may be an ongoing cause of pain --
arthritis, cancer, ear infection, but some people suffer chronic pain in the
absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage. Many chronic pain
conditions affect older adults. Common chronic pain complaints include headache,
low back pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, neurogenic pain (pain resulting from
damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself),
psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of
damage inside or outside the nervous system).
Is there any treatment?
Medications, acupuncture, local electrical stimulation, and brain
stimulation, as well as surgery, are some treatments for chronic pain. Some
physicians use placebos, which in some cases has resulted in a lessening or
elimination of pain. Psychotherapy, relaxation and medication therapies,
biofeedback, and behavior modification may also be employed to treat chronic
pain.
What is the prognosis?
Many people with chronic pain can be helped if they understand all the
causes of pain and the many and varied steps that can be taken to undo what
chronic pain has done. Scientists believe that advances in neuroscience will
lead to more and better treatments for chronic pain in the years to come.
What research is being done?
Clinical investigators have tested chronic pain patients and found that they
often have lower-than-normal levels of endorphins in their spinal fluid.
Investigations of acupuncture include wiring the needles to stimulate nerve
endings electrically (electroacupuncture), which some researchers believe
activates endorphin systems. Other experiments with acupuncture have shown
that there are higher levels of endorphins in cerebrospinal fluid following
acupuncture. Investigators are studying the effect of stress on the
experience of chronic pain. Chemists are synthesizing new analgesics and
discovering painkilling virtues in drugs not normally prescribed for pain.
Back Pain Overview
Back pain in the lower back or low back pain is a common concern, affecting
up to 90% of Americans at some point in their lifetime. Up to 50% will have more
than one episode. Low back pain is not a specific disease. Rather, it is a
symptom that may occur from a variety of different processes. In up to 85% of
people with low back pain, despite a thorough medical examination, no specific
cause of the pain can be identified.
- Low back pain is second only to the common cold as a cause of lost days
at work. It is also one of the most common reasons to visit a doctor's
office or a hospital's
emergency department.
- For 90% of people, even those with
nerve root irritation, their symptoms will improve within 2 months, no
matter what treatment is used-even if no treatment is given.
- Doctors usually refer to back pain as
acute if it has been present for less than a month and
chronic if it lasts for a longer period of time.
Leg Pain
Leg pain is a common symptom and complaint. Causes of leg pain include:
muscle cramps, dehydration or depletion of potassium, sodium, calcium, or
magnesium, injuries, inflammation, nerve damage, and other conditions.
Guide To Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless legs syndrome is a sleep disorder characterized by unpleasant
sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest.
Charley horse
A charley horse is the common name for a muscle spasm, particularly in the
leg. Muscle spasms can occur in any muscle in the body. When a muscle is in
spasm, it contracts involuntarily and does not relax.
Muscle cramps
Muscle cramps are involuntary and often painful contractions of the muscles
which produce a hard, bulging muscle. Muscle twitching (fasciculation) is
the result of spontaneous local muscle contractions that are involuntary and
typically only affect individual muscle groups connected to (innervated by)
a particular motor neuron. This twitching does not cause pain.
Blockage of leg arteries
Blockage of leg arteries results from poor circulation of blood in the leg
arteries. This produces an aching, tired, and sometimes burning pain in the
legs that is brought on by exercise, and relieved by rest. Claudication
refers to the limping that occurs from leg cramps.
Femoral Nerve Dysfunction
Femoral nerve dysfunction is a loss of movement or sensation in the leg
(peripheral neuropathy) caused by damage to the femoral nerve. The femoral
nerve is located in the leg and supplies the muscles that help straighten
the leg. It supplies sensation to the front of the thigh and part of the
lower leg.
Common Peroneal Nerve Dysfunction
Common peroneal nerve dysfunction is a disorder caused by damage to the
peroneal nerve, characterized by loss of movement or sensation in the foot
and leg. The peroneal nerve is a branching of the sciatic nerve, which
supplies movement and sensation to the lower leg, foot and toes.
Sciatic Nerve Dysfunction
Sciatica is a form of peripheral neuropathy. It occurs when there is damage
to the sciatic nerve, located in the back of the leg. This nerve controls
the muscles of the back of the knee and lower leg and provides sensation to
the back of the thigh, part of the lower leg and the sole of the foot.
Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)
Deep venous thrombosis is a condition where there is a blood clot in a deep
vein (a vein that accompanies an artery). Deep venous thrombosis (DVT)
affects mainly the veins in the lower leg and the thigh.
Golfer's Vasculitis (Leg Rash in the Heat)
Golfer's Vasculitis is a red leg rash on the calves of many walkers. Often
it starts above the sock line and makes red patches and splotches up their
calves. It usually doesn't itch.
Femur Fracture (Broken Femur)
The femur is one of the largest, and strongest bones in the body. The femur
is the thigh bone--it extends from the hip joint down to the knee joint.
Because the femur is such a strong bone, it can take tremendous force to
cause a femur fracture.
Tibia Fractures
The tibia is the major bone of the lower leg, commonly referred to as the
shin bone. In general, tibia fractures can be separated into three
categories based on the location of the fracture.
Tibial Plateau Fractures
A tibial plateau fracture occurs at the top of the shin bone, and involves
the cartilage surface of the knee joint. Because these fractures occur
around the knee joint, they must be treated differently than the tibial
shaft fractures.
Tibial Plafond Fractures
Tibial plafond fractures occur just above the ankle joint and often involve
the cartilage surface of the ankle joint. The other m