What is Chronic Pain
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The word Chronic according to Websters Dictionary means: Long lasting or Recurring frequently over a long period of time; of a disease or ailment of long duration or repeated occurrences, ever present or constant, of a worrisome or annoying situation, repeated, continuous or habitual in manner. The word Pain according to the Websters Dictionary means: Physical ache, discomfort or distress because of injury, overstrain or illness. Some of the common causes of Chronic Pain.
There are of course, many other causes of Chronic Pain, this is just a beginning .... Some words we can use to describe our pain:
Throbbing, Shooting, Stabbing, Sharp, Cramping, Gnawing,
Aching,
Burning, Tender, Splitting, Exhausting, Sickening, Dull. Use one of the following 3 ways to describe the your pain to Doctors. 1. Categorical Scale. 0 - No Pain 1 - Mild Pain 2 - Discomfort 3 - Distressing 4 - Horrible 5 - Excruciating  2. Numerical Scale.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 No Pain Worst Pain 3. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) We mark our pain level on the line: |--------------------------------------------------------| No Pain Worst Pain
You must use one of these methods in discussing your
pain levels with your Doctor, they will know of them.
Headaches are normally caused by tension or stress but these should never be brushed off as a simple headache, the symptoms could be a warning sign of something more serious is about to happen. There are two main types of Headaches
Tension Headaches. It is estimated, nearly 50% of the population will suffer from a tension headache at some stage of their life. It is also a fact that a tension headache is the most common type of pain condition there is and it is thought to be due to the high stresses faced in our modern high tech lifestyles. Some of the more common characteristics of a tension
headache are:
Other causes of these types of headaches are:
Vascular Headaches. The most common of these is known as a migraine. Vascular headaches are less common than tension headaches, affecting about 15% of the population. This problem is not only faced by adults but more commonly by children as well. Some of the more common characteristics of a vascular
headache are:
The other common type of Vascular headache is a Cluster headache. These are usually brief in duration, often only lasting for around twenty minutes or so. They are called "Cluster" headaches because they occur with some frequency over a period of several days or weeks and then disappear for months before returning again.
For more information on headaches, please visit:
In Australia, between 2 & 4 million people suffer from this debilitating condition. Did you know there are about 150 different types of arthritis, with osteo-arthritis being the most common, followed by rheumatoid arthritis. All of the different types of arthritis cause pain, misery and inflammation and are difficult to treat. There is no known cure for arthritis, which has a myriad of symptoms, but it can be treated with some success.
For further information on arthritis, please visit:
When you stick yourself with a pin or you stand on a nail, you should feel a sharp but brief pain. This kind of pain signals that your skins nerve endings have been activated, but not necessarily damaged. On the other hand you may suffer an injury that has been caused by a trauma, surgery or even an infection that can damage the nerve, this type of injury leaves you with chronic, persistent pain. This type of pain is called Neuropathic Pain, meaning the damaged nerve is producing the pain. This type of pain is also known as Neuralgic Pain and Nerve Pain. Neuropathic pain often can be worse than the pain from the original injury. It is not yet understood how or why this type of pain occurs, to the levels it does, in some people and not in others. This makes Neuropathic pain a difficult condition to treat. This is the most common type of chronic pain there is in Australia. The lower back or lumbar region, accounts for about 50% of reported pain, while the neck or cervical area accounts for about 20% of reported pain. The lower back seems to be affected more than the neck area but both types of injuries are costing millions of dollars each year in lost production and days off work. This type of problem can affect anybody at any age but most commonly affects the age group of between 30 - 40. This has something to do with our lifestyle, the type of work we do and our normal ageing process. We can get neck and back pain doing any type of work, sitting at a desk or digging holes all day can cause the same type of problems. Some of the more common causes of back & neck pain
are:
Your spine is a complex interweaving of muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, discs, nerves, cartilage and no two spines are built exactly the same.
Obviously,
a preventative approach would be better, so by practising good back
and neck habits, you can minimise any damage.
For information regarding this growing problem, please
visit:
For the most up to date information regarding this
serious condition, please visit:
For the most up to date information regarding this painful condition, please visit: Endometriosis Association Incorporated - Victoria Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy also called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is one of the Neuropathic Pains. For the most up to date information regarding this painful condition, please visit: The
Australian Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Support Group or If you know of any more, let us know.
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