Topic: Pain ReliefChronic pain
Chronic pain refers to pain that persists after an injury heals, pain related to a
persistent or degenerative disease, and long-term pain from an unidentifiable cause.
It is estimated that one in three people in the United States will experience chronic pain at some point
in their lives. Of these people, approximately 50 million are either partially or completely disabled.
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Chronic and Abnormal Pain
Chronic pain may be caused by the body's response to acute pain. In the presence of continued stimulation
of nociceptors, changes occur within the nervous system.
Changes at the molecular level are dramatic
and may include alterations in genetic transcription of neurotransmitters and receptors. These changes
may also occur in the absence of an identifiable cause; one of the frustrating aspects of chronic
pain is that the stimulus may be unknown. For example, the stimulus cannot be identified in as many
as 85% of individuals suffering lower back pain.
Other types of abnormal pain include allodynia, hyperalgesia, and phantom limb pain. These types
of
pain often arise from some damage to the nervous system (neuropathic).
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