In order to appropriately treat pain and expedite recovery, it’s necessary to determine if it is acute or chronic. Any kind of physical discomfort should be taken seriously, but chronic pain is a special concern since it can turn into a lifelong condition.

Acute pain: alert of an injury

If pain is acute, it signals the presence of an injury. When you stub your toe, for instance, the immediate pain lets you know to be careful with that part of the body since you just suffered a bruise.

Whatever the issue is, once it has healed, this type of pain will go away. If one of your spinal discs becomes herniated, the acute pain ends when you release the nerve impingement.

“For this reason,” explains Spine-health, “medical treatment for acute pain focuses on healing the underlying cause of the pain.”

Also, the severity with which you hurt will have a direct relationship to the extent of the injury. If you sprain an ankle, your body quickly sends out a defensive reflex to let you know that it’s critical to avoid use so that the tissues can rest and the swelling can subside. Specifically, walking causes pain, so our body tells us not to walk, or at least not to put weight on the injured leg.

Chronic pain: a complex, individualized condition

Chronic pain, on the other hand, is no longer playing a specific biological role in shielding the body from damage.

When this type of pain is present, doctors work to determine the root causes – not always obvious – so that they can be properly addressed.

Most acute pain does not become chronic. When it does, it manifests in diverse ways from one person to the next. In turn, treatment plans must be tailored to the individual in order to optimize effectiveness.

Part of the reason chronic pain is challenging to treat is that two people might have the same basic health issue, but chronicity only arises in one of them. Plus, an issue that seems unimportant could produce substantial chronic pain, while an extreme injury or illness might generate very little.

If the pain does become chronic, “influences of factors other than tissue damage and injury come more into play,” explains Spine-health, “and influences other than tissue input become more important as the pain becomes more chronic.”

Pain management to address chronic pain

The pain management specialty emerged as chronic pain came to be understood as a primary health condition that was not always a symptom of injury or illness. Since this form of pain is so complex and diverse, many practices now use multidisciplinary care so that every possible strategy can be used for recovery.

At Health Star Clinic, our responsible approach combines chiropractic care, physical therapy, and conventional medicine. Find out now what to expect at your first visit.