Pain is one of the protective responses of the human body. Pain is the body’s way of telling you that you might be under some threat or danger. Pain is meant to make you uncomfortable so if you are injured or sick, you know you need to do something (or stop doing something).
When you do something that hurts your body, your brain typically triggers the pain response. If you touch something hot, the pain you feel is your body’s way of telling you to stop touching the hot item and take action to cool the skin. If you walk on an injured ankle and it hurts, that’s also your body telling you to stop.
For centuries it was believed that chronic pain was a sign of unhealed tissues, but science has advanced dramatically over the past twenty years, and we now know that chronic pain is mostly caused by a hypersensitive nervous system.
The pain experience varies from person to person. One person might have a broken bone and not even realize it, while another might feel significant pain from that same injury. Because every person’s body is different, their nerve fibers and brain can react differently to the same stimuli. That helps explain why pain perception and sensitivity can differ so much from one person to another.
What is the difference between acute and chronic pain?
The terms acute and chronic are used to explain the course of pain over time.
Acute pain. This is pain that typically lasts up to 6 weeks and can happen for any number of reasons. Acute pain can be due to physical damage to your body such as a cut, infection, or musculoskeletal injury.
Chronic pain. When your pain lasts without a break for 12 weeks or longer, it is defined as chronic. Such pain can be extremely difficult because it can impact your well-being, mood, ability to do your job, and do normal daily tasks such as getting out of bed and getting dressed.
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