How does pain become chronic? Pain can be a complex condition, as it involves both physiological and psychological components. When an individual experiences an injury, the damaged tissues trigger and send pain signals to the brain. This is how the body alerts that there is something wrong, and thus prevents further damage. Those pain signals travel to the brain, stimulate the nerves, and cause a sensation known as pain.  
11860 Vista Del Sol, Ste. 128 How Does Pain Become Chronic?

Nerves and the brain

Nerves control the body’s functions like the organs, sensation, and movement. The nervous system receives information and generates the correct response. Two major types of nerves are sensory and motor. Sensory nerves relay information like touch, temperature, and pain to the brain and spinal cord. Motor nerves relay signals from the brain back to the muscles, which causes them to contract voluntarily or reflexively. The peripheral nervous system is the combined millions of nerves throughout the body. The peripheral nervous system’s nerves relay signals/messages to the central nervous system, which is comprised of the brain and spinal cord.  
 
When pain becomes chronic the brain fails to process these signals correctly and the individual continues to feel pain after the injury has healed or improved. As time goes on the nerves that send the pain signals are more methodical in their signaling. This means more signals than normally will be sent and are far more intense. Conditions like cancer and diabetes can cause tissue and nerve damage throughout the body.

Acute vs. Chronic

Acute pain has a short duration of around three months or less. The causes are usually clear and not as difficult to diagnose. The underlying factor/s like an injury is resolved the pain also goes away. As the pain is gone, the individual no longer has problems carrying out daily activities. A few causes of acute pain are:
  • Surgical procedures
  • Dental procedures
  • Bone fractures
  • Burns
  • Open wounds
  • Childbirth
Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts three to six months with some conditions going for years. Individuals can experience chronic pain weeks and months possibly years after the injury took place. And it can happen without any apparent cause. Many cases often involve more than one factor. This causes significant problems with daily activities. When pain becomes chronic it is often associated with conditions like cancer, diabetes, and arthritis.

CP and CPS

Chronic pain is defined as any type of pain that persists for six months or longer. Chronic pain syndrome is a collection of conditions that are associated with chronic pain. These conditions can make the pain worse or cause other complications like sleep problems, anger, anxiety, and depression.  
11860 Vista Del Sol, Ste. 128 How Does Pain Become Chronic?
 

Causes

Doctors don’t know exactly what causes chronic pain syndrome. It often starts with an injury or painful condition such as:
  • Arthritis
  • Broken bones
  • Back pain
  • Cancer
  • Headaches
  • Joint problems
  • Muscle strains and sprains
  • Repetitive strain injuries
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Nerve injury/damage
  • Lyme disease
  • Ulcers
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Surgery

Diagnosis

A doctor will go over an individual’s medical history, illnesses, or injuries that could have started the pain. They will ask questions to learn more about the type of pain being felt and how long. Questions can include:
  • When did the pain begin?
  • Where on the body does it hurt?
  • What does the pain feel like – Throbbing, Pounding, Shooting, Sharp, Pinching, Stinging, Burning
  • The severity of the pain on a scale of 1 to 10
  • What sets the pain off?
  • What makes it worse?
  • Have any treatments helped?
Imaging tests can show if there is joint damage or other problems:
  • Computed tomography is a powerful X-ray that generates detailed images.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging uses magnets and radio waves to take pictures of the organs and structures.
  • X-rays use radiation in very low doses to create images of the body’s structures.
Talk with a chiropractor to understand how a customized treatment plan for chronic pain is developed.

Chronic Hand Pain Treatment

 
 

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Dr. Alex Jimenez
Specialties: Stopping the PAIN! We Specialize in Treating Severe Sciatica, Neck-Back Pain, Whiplash, Headaches, Knee Injuries, Sports Injuries, Dizziness, Poor Sleep, Arthritis. We use advanced proven therapies focused on optimal Mobility, Posture Control, Deep Health Instruction, Integrative & Functional Medicine, Functional Fitness, Chronic Degenerative Disorder Treatment Protocols, and Structural Conditioning. We also integrate Wellness Nutrition, Wellness Detoxification Protocols and Functional Medicine for chronic musculoskeletal disorders. We use effective "Patient Focused Diet Plans", Specialized Chiropractic Techniques, Mobility-Agility Training, Cross-Fit Protocols, and the Premier "PUSH Functional Fitness System" to treat patients suffering from various injuries and health problems. Ultimately, I am here to serve my patients and community as a Chiropractor passionately restoring functional life and facilitating living through increased mobility. Purpose & Passions: I am a Doctor of Chiropractic specializing in progressive cutting-edge therapies and functional rehabilitation procedures focused on clinical physiology, total health, functional strength training, functional medicine, and complete conditioning. We focus on restoring normal body functions after neck, back, spinal and soft tissue injuries. We use Specialized Chiropractic Protocols, Wellness Programs, Functional & Integrative Nutrition, Agility & Mobility Fitness Training and Cross-Fit Rehabilitation Systems for all ages. As an extension to dynamic rehabilitation, we too offer our patients, disabled veterans, athletes, young and elder a diverse portfolio of strength equipment, high-performance exercises and advanced agility treatment options. We have teamed up with the cities' premier doctors, therapist and trainers in order to provide high-level competitive athletes the options to push themselves to their highest abilities within our facilities. We've been blessed to use our methods with thousands of El Pasoans over the last 3 decades allowing us to restore our patients' health and fitness while implementing researched non-surgical methods and functional wellness programs. Our programs are natural and use the body's ability to achieve specific measured goals, rather than introducing harmful chemicals, controversial hormone replacement, un-wanted surgeries, or addictive drugs. We want you to live a functional life that is fulfilled with more energy, a positive attitude, better sleep, and less pain. Our goal is to ultimately empower our patients to maintain the healthiest way of living. With a bit of work, we can achieve optimal health together, no matter the age, ability or disability.