Pain is how the body responds to a harmful stimuli and is usually a symptom of ongoing or impending tissue damage. Acute pain happens and goes on quickly when the harmful stimuli have been removed.
Acute pain has a sudden onset and has a specific cause. It has a sharp, knife-like, or pricking character and usually doesn’t last long as the particular cause has been eliminated. Acute pain can be caused by surgical procedures, fracture of bones, dental work, cuts, burns, and labor.
Acute pain is provoked by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and muscle spasms, which are induced by trauma or insults by microorganisms in many cases. While acute pain has a recognizable endpoint and serves some biological purpose, chronic pain has neither a recognizable endpoint nor a biological significance. Acute pain usually resolves or reduces as healing continues; therefore, pain relief is only needed during episodes of acute injury when pain response is more pronounced. Acute pain can be severe, intermittent, moderate o severe.
Chronic pain usually extends longer than six months. Chronic pain can continue after the illness or injury that caused it has healed. Chronic pain occurs in conditions where there is continued tissue destruction. Some of the diseases linked to chronic pain include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, myalgias, cancers, back pain, and other immunosuppressive disorders.
Chronic pain usually causes stress to the body that will consequently produce physical conditions and symptoms like;
- Tense muscles
- Limited degree o movement.
- Muscle weakness
- Reduced appetite
Chronic pain can also cause emotional effects like depression, anger, anxiety, and a feel of re-injury that can limit one’s ability to return to work or do leisure activities like swimming, exercise, and gym.
Human beings experience pain at some point in their lives, and thus pain is the most common reason people seek medical attention. However, each of us perceives acute and chronic pain differently; thus, pain is subjective and can only be accurately defined by the person in pain rather than a medical practitioner or an observer.
Both acute ad chronic pain perception varies depending on the mood, sleep pattern, anger, and activity. Similar to acute pain, chronic pain can be mild, moderate, or severe. Chronic pain usually requires prolonged treatment of underlying conditions and symptomatic pain relief.