What can the type of pain you are experiencing tell you about what may be wrong?
Generally, pain is classified into two categories, Acute, and chronic pain.
Acute Pain
A type of pain that begins suddenly and usually feels sharp. Acute pain is most commonly present following an injury or accident such as a cut, burn, or trauma.
These types of pain should typically resolve themselves or after a medical intervention in less than 6 months.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is not specific to any certain type of pain, but rather a pain that doesn’t go away after 6 months or more. It can have a large variety of causes and may be present even after an issue has been resolved. These pains often require a multidisciplinary approach to be resolved. Thus, many affected also suffer from mental health issues.
Due to the complexity of pain, it is further broken down into nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Simply put, it describes the involvement of the nerves. Nociceptors are pain receptors in the skin that become stimulated through an external impulse such as any kind of impact, cut, or burn. Whereas neuropathic pain arises from direct nerve damage and therefore often results in becoming chronic pain.
Nociceptive pain is the most common type of pain as it ranges from light to severe impacts. It can be felt everywhere on the body (soma) and is referred to as somatic pain and usually has a sharp character. Additionally, nociceptive pain can also be felt in the organs (viscera) and is referred to as visceral pain. This pain is often described as persistent, dull, and diffuse.
Neuropathic may result from a degenerative disease and is caused by underlying nerve damage.
With this in mind, you may be able to understand what is happening in your, body or what may be the cause of the pain.
