What is Pain?

What is Pain?


Pain is always subjective. Many factors in a patient’s life can influence the perception of pain.

“An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”

Pain can be divided by its time-course. Acute Pain is pain present for less than 3 months; Chronic Pain is pain present for greater than 3 months.

Pain can also be divided into 2 types:
1. Nociceptive (Normal Pain)
2. Neuropathic Pain

 

What is Neuropathic Pain?


A type of pain caused by damage and/or dysfunction to the nervous system. Causes of Neuropathic Pain include:

• Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
• Post Herpetic Neuralgia
• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Post Trauma
• Neuropathic Cancer Pain
• Post-Stroke Pain

Neuropathic Pain can be extremely unpleasant and distressing and responds poorly to standard analgesics (pain-killers) such as Paracetamol, NSAIDs or Codeine. Patients often describe the pain with very descriptive language: burning, stabbing, shooting, numb, sharp, sawing, lancinating.

With Neuropathic Pain there is often disruption to the normal functioning of sensory nerves which may manifest as allodynia, hyperalgesia and dysaesthesia. Pain and sensory dysfunction can lead to motor dysfunction, including stiffness, reduced movement and disability.

Patients may also experience other manifestations of pain including: sleep difficulties, anxiety, depression, mood disturbances, relationship difficulties and social isolation.

Allodynia: Pain due to a stimulus which does not normally provoke pain, for example the brushing of clothing.

Hyperalgesia: An increased response to a stimulus which is normally painful, for example pin prick felt as severe pain.

Neuralgia: Pain in the distribution of a nerve or nerves.

Neuropathy: A disturbance of function or pathological change in a nerve. This can occur in one nerve, mononeuropathy; or in several nerves, mononeuropathy multiplex; or if diffuse and bilateral, polyneuropathy.

Paresthesia: An abnormal sensation, whether occurring spontaneously or evoked, by touch, pressure or temperature change.

 

List of Painful Conditions We Treat


General Pain Conditions

Arthritis
Central Pain Syndrome
Fibromyalgia (Myofacial Pain Syndrome)
Gout
Mononeuropathy
Osteoarthritis
Osteoporosis
Neuropathic Pain
Peripheral Neuropathic Pain
Polyneuropathy
Post Herpetic Neuralgia
Postoperative Pain
Rheumatoid Arthritis

Head and Face Pain
Atypical Facial Pain
Cluster Headache
Facial Pain
Headache
Migraine
Post Herpetic Neuralgia
Tension Headache
Trigeminal Neuralgia (Tic Douloureux)

Neck Pain
Cervicobrachial Neuralgia
Neck Pain
Whiplash

Shoulder Arm and Hand Pain
Cervicobrachial Neuralgia
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Frozen Shoulder
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
Tennis Elbow

Chest Pain
Post mastectomy Pain
Post-Herpetic Neuralgia

Pelvic and Abdominal Pain
Chronic Abdominal Pain
Chronic Pancreatitis
Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
Neuropathic Pain

Back Pain
Chronic Lower Back Pain
Discogenic Pain
Facet Joint Pain / Syndrome
Lower Back Pain
Spinal Stenosis

Hip, Leg and Foot Pain
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Meralgia Paraesthetica
Phantom Limb Pain
Restless Leg Syndrome

Sports Injuries
Tennis Elbow

Cancer Pains
General Information