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Health

Chronic pain

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 20.11.2021
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If you feel pain for a long period of time, and you do not notice any other symptoms and signs of disease - most likely, this pain is chronic. In medical circles, it is usually called a chronic pain syndrome. The causes that cause a constant sensation of pain are often not determined even during clinical trials and various diagnostic measures.

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Why chronic pain is called a syndrome?

Since every disease has its own classification and certain regularities in its course, chronic pain manifestations after careful study could be attributed to the concept of a syndrome that corresponds to certain signs and complexes of symptoms. There is an established meaning of the term "chronic pain syndrome," which states that it can be attributed to pain that lasts longer than the usual healing period or damage factor and develops according to its own patterns. But how long the pain lasts is by no means the main symptom that helps to distinguish the chronic pain from acute during the diagnosis. In fact, this is facilitated by completely different biochemical, clinical, as well as neurophysiological and psychological processes and relationships. Chronic pain syndrome occurs when the actual change in neutron pathways occurs as a result of the constant generation of painful impulses. This can provoke hypersensitivity and resistance of neuronal pathways to the influence of the antinociceptive system of our body. All this leads to the fact that the compulsory and continuous action of the nervous system becomes the generation of pain signals.

Diagnosis of chronic pain

In our time, there is no one common practice of diagnosing chronic pain. But, nevertheless, thanks to not a large number of standard tests that allow you to assess the pain, it is possible to correct it quite effectively with the therapeutic method. As a result of a thorough examination and interview of a patient complaining of persistent pain, as well as an objective somatic and neurological examination, the most detailed definition and assessment of the pain experienced can be given. Often chronic pain is diagnosed in people who can not work normally because of severe pain, but, nevertheless, do not suffer from sleep disorders. Or, when during physical exertion the pain intensifies, and the care from surrounding and close people helps to soften it. During the diagnosis of pain, it is necessary to check the psychoemotional state of the patient very carefully, since in recent years more and more specialists are inclined to associate one chain with the emergence of chronic pain syndrome and depressive conditions.

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Is there a panacea

In medical practice, it is common to distinguish between two types of chronic pain: 

  1. Nociceptor 
  2. Neuropathic

Nociceptor painful manifestations respond well to anti-inflammatory drugs of non-steroidal origin and analgesic drugs. Such pain appears as a result of nociceptor irritation. These receptors are located in the internal organs, muscles, ligaments and skin. From this it follows that such pain can be triggered by such tissue damage as stretching or inflammation. They can also occur as a result of a traumatic injury or a burn.

Neuropathic pain does not respond to therapy with the above-described drugs, since in this case the pain is not related to stimulation of pain receptors. The cause of its occurrence is the defeat of the nervous system.

To date, many types of treatment and blockade of chronic pain have been developed. Among them are conservative medicinal techniques, and surgical interventions. By epidural and radicular blockade at any level of the spine, most patients get rid of the unpleasant sensations that produce chronic pain, the source of which was the spine cord root as a result of infringement. If such a method does not work, then surgical decompression becomes an alternative.

In the case of permanent pain in the disease of pancreatic cancer, neurolithic blockade of the solar plexus is used. In addition, this method is also effective in the presence of pathologies in the lower limbs and abdominal cavity.

Neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve has long been not an incurable pathology, although to this day some doctors do not know about it. Throughout the world, the healing of this disease is effectively practiced by methods such as, for example, radiofrequency distraction of the rootlet.

Also, it is possible to relieve a person from chronic pain for a long time. But, in the countries of the post-Soviet space, unfortunately, many new technologies that effectively cure chronic pain can not be implemented because of the cost, the need for a special and long process of training relevant personnel. Remember, if you have a long, not passing pain, you should seek advice from a therapist or neurologist.

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