Pain and Pain Management

What is Pain? whatever the person experiencing pain says it is, existing whenever the person communicates or demonstrates (voluntarily or involuntarily) it does and an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage

Acute pain: pain of less than 12 weeks duration or pain that occurs during the expected period of healing Acute painAcute pain begins suddenly and is usually sharp. It serves as a warning of disease or a threat to the body. May be caused by many events or circumstances, including: Surgery Broken bones Dental work Burns or cuts Labour and childbirth

Chronic pain: Persists despite an injury having healed. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months or years. Physical effects- Emotional effects-

Chronic pain Physical effects- Emotional effects- tense muscles, depression limited mobility, anger lack of energy,anxiety changes in appetite. Fear of re-injury

Common sources of chronic pain include: Headache Low-back pain Cancer pain Arthritis pain Neurogenic pain (pain resulting from damage to nerves) Psychogenic pain (pain not attributable to past disease or injury, or to any visible sign of interior damage) Chronic pain may derive from an initial trauma/injury or infection. Alternatively, there may be an ongoing cause of pain. However, some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage

Pain Scale-How sore are you??

Pain management: Depending on its severity, pain may be treated in a number of ways. Options may include one or more of the following: Drug treatments: non-prescription medications such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, or stronger options such as morphine, codeine or an anaesthetic.paracetamolibuprofen Nerve blocks (blocking a group of nerves with local anaesthetics) Alternative treatments such as acupuncture, relaxation and biofeedback Electrical stimulation Physiotherapy Surgery Psychological counselling Behaviour modification Some pain medicines are more effective at fighting pain when they are combined with other methods of treatment. You may need to try various methods to maintain optimal pain relief.