What is Pain?

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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?

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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

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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