What Is Chronic Pain?

Picture
Chronic pain is pain that does not go away
When pain lasts over a period of six months, or beyond the usual time for recovery , it is said to be chronic. There are different types of chronic pain, many of which are not clearly understood. Chronic pain may be associated with an illness or disability, such as cancer, arthritis or phantom limb pain. Some types of chronic pain start after an accident. Others may start as acute episodes but then the pain becomes constant over time, such as low back pain. With some types of chronic pain, like migraine headaches, the pain is recurrent, rather than constant. There are many other kinds of chronic pain, such as chronic postsurgical pain, fibromyalgia, temporo-mandibular disorders, etc. While in some cases the cause of pain is known, in many other cases it is not clear why pain persists (Canadian Psychological Association).

What Causes Chronic Pain?

There are many causes
​​Diseases such as shingles, cancer or diabetes, injuries or accidents and many other illnesses and conditions such as:
  • Myofascial Pain ( MFP ) can be directly translated as the pain of muscle and tendons.
  • Fibromyalgia Pain is pain which affects the muscles but its causes are unknown. It is a complex disease which is becoming more and more prevalent in our population. For information on fibromyalgia view here.
  • Neuropathic Pain (NeP) is caused by lesions in the nervous system. Underlying  causes include infections, trauma, metabolic abnormalities, illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, chemotherapy, surgery, certain medications and inherited medical conditions. For information on, diabetic peripheral neuropathy go to www.foothealthfacts.org
  • Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) is neuropathic pain resulting from the shingles virus and can be long lasting. For more facts on this debilitating disease and immunization go to www.Zostavax.ca   
  • Chronic Migraine can be the result of a patient  experiencing 15 or more days each month with a headache lasting 4 or more hours each day. For more facts on the treatment of migraines or to keep a diary of your headaches go to www.BOTOX.ca and enter the drug identification number (DIN) 01981501.
  • Arthritis exists in many different forms, eg: Osteo, rheumatoid, etc. The arthritis foundation offers an abundance of information on various types of arthritis as well as its symptoms at  Visit www.arthritis.org  For more information on  medication treatment of Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid  arthritis go to www.celebrex.com

Long term severe chronic pain can be treated with many different medications. For information on Metadol (Methadone) and how it is used to treat severe pain click here or go to canada.com 

The Impact of Chronic Pain

What do you do?
Where do you turn if your back pain doesn't get better or you have a headache that just never lets up? What if you have diabetes that causes the nerves in your feet to burn, or a shingles infection that causes a band of fiery pain around your side? What if your spinal surgery wasn’t successful, or if your elderly parent is coping with cancer-related pain? In all of these situations, you need help from a doctor or clinic with skill in treating pain and its related conditions.

The Impact on Canadians
The latest Canadian Pain Society/Nanos Pain Survey revealed starting facts about the prevalence and impact of chronic pain. In Atlantic Canada, between 20 and 25% of adults 18 years of age and older experience chronic pain. Nationwide, 33% of Canadians have lost a job because of their pain and 47% have had their job responsibilities reduced. Workplace costs of chronic pain in Canada amounts to approximately $37 billion a year, which includes lost jobs and sick days, but doesn't account for the lowered productivity that is experienced when people suffering with chronic pain go to work, but can't perform their job functions fully.

The study also reported that 27.9% of people in pain experience depressions, 25% reported anxiety and 16.4% reported having both. Inability to have a respite from the pain, lack of access to physicians experienced in treating pain, the invisible symptoms and effects leading to a lack of understanding and empathy from friends, family and coworkers. Unfortunately, some patients face all of these challenges. Unfortunately, some even turn to suicide. Although the numbers are less definitive, the general consensus is that the suicide rate in the pain population is more than three times greater than that of the general population. For some pain patients, suicide is seen as their best, and only, option for pain relief.

Did You Know?
Zoster vaccine is a live vaccine developed by Merck & Co. that has been shown to reduce the incidence of herpes zoster by 51.3 percent in a study of 38,000 adults aged 60 and older who received the vaccine. The vaccine also reduced by 66.5 percent the number of cases of post herpetic neuralgia and reduced the severity and duration of pain and discomfort associated with shingles, by 61.1 percent. The zoster vaccine is, essentially, a larger-than-normal dose of the chickenpox vaccine, as both shingles and chickenpox are caused by the same virus, the varicella zoster virus.

IMPACT OF SHINGLES:  At the end of the clip you will know enough to make you want to call your doctor to be immunized! 
Advice On Shingles​