Pain - Chronic
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What is Chronic Pain?Is there any treatment?What is the prognosis?What research is being done?OrganizationsPublicaciones en Español
Additional resources from MEDLINEplus
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.
Select this link
to view a list of studies currently seeking patients.
Organizations
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial
Research (NIDCR)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
31 Center Drive, Room 5B-55
Bethesda,
MD
20892
nidcrinfo@mail.nih.gov
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov
Tel: 301-496-4261
|
American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA)
P.O. Box 850
Rocklin,
CA
95677-0850
ACPA@pacbell.net
http://www.theacpa.org
Tel: 916-632-0922
800-533-3231
Fax: 916-632-3208
|
American Council for Headache Education
19 Mantua Road
Mt. Royal,
NJ
08061
achehq@talley.com
http://www.achenet.org
Tel: 856-423-0258
800-255-ACHE (255-2243)
Fax: 856-423-0082
|
National Headache Foundation
820 N. Orleans
Suite 217
Chicago,
IL
60610-3132
info@headaches.org
http://www.headaches.org
Tel: 312-274-2650
888-NHF-5552 (643-5552)
Fax: 312-640-9049
|
National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain
P.O. Box 70045
Houston,
TX
77270
NFTPain@cwo.com
http://www.paincare.org
Tel: 713-862-9332
Fax: 713-862-9346
|
Mayday Fund [For Pain Research]
c/o SPG
136 West 21st Street, 6th Floor
New York,
NY
10011
mayday@maydayfund.org
http://www.painandhealth.org
Tel: 212-366-6970
Fax: 212-366-6979
|
American Pain Foundation
201 North Charles Street
Suite 710
Baltimore,
MD
21201-4111
info@painfoundation.org
http://www.painfoundation.org
Tel: 888-615-PAIN (7246)
Fax: 410-385-1832
|
Arthritis Foundation
1330 West Peachtree Street
Suite 100
Atlanta,
GA
30309
help@arthritis.org
http://www.arthritis.org
Tel: 800-568-4045
404-872-7100
404-965-7888
Fax: 404-872-0457
|
Publicaciones en EspañolPrepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by
or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice
on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined
that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.
All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.
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Last updated July 20, 2007
