Pain is a very common condition. The occurrence of pain rises as people get older, and women are more likely to experience pain than men.
There are 2 main types of pain:
Pain may be anything from a dull ache to a sharp stab and can range from mild to extreme. You may feel pain in one part of your body or it may be widespread.
Studies suggest that a person’s emotional wellbeing can impact the experience of pain. Understanding the cause and learning effective ways to cope with your pain can improve your quality of life.
. Key pain management strategies include
The most common causes of pain in adults include:
Pain is a complex protective mechanism. It is an essential part of evolution that protects the body from danger and harm. The body has pain receptors that are attached to 2 main types of nerves that detect danger. One nerve type relays messages quickly, causing a sharp, sudden pain. The other relays messages slowly, causing a dull, throbbing pain. Some areas of the body have more pain receptors than others. For example, the skin has lots of receptors so it is easy to tell the exact location and type of pain. There are far fewer receptors in the gut, so it is harder to pinpoint the precise location of a stomach ache. If pain receptors in the skin are activated by touching something dangerous (for example something hot or sharp), these nerves send alerts to the spinal cord and then to part of the brain called the thalamus. Sometimes the spinal cord sends an immediate signal back to the muscles to make them contract. This moves the affected body part away from the source of danger or harm. This is a reflex reaction that prevents further damage occurring. It happens before you feel pain. Once the ‘alert!’ message reaches the thalamus, it sorts the information the nerves have sent, taking into account your previous experience, beliefs, expectations, culture and social norms. This explains why people have very different responses to pain. The thalamus then sends the information on to other parts of the brain that are linked to physical response, thought and emotion. This is when you may feel the sensation of pain, think ‘That hurt! What was it?’, and feel annoyed. The thalamus also contributes to mood and arousal, which helps to explain why your interpretation of pain partly depends on your state of mind.
Many non-medicine treatments are available to help you manage your pain. A combination of treatments and therapies is often more effective than just one.
Medicines for chronic pain are best taken regularly. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if your medicines are not working or are causing problems, such as side effects. These are more likely to occur if you are taking pain medicines for a long time. It is important to use a variety of strategies to help reduce pain. Do not rely on medicines alone.
People can lower the levels of pain they feel by:
Some of the side effects of common pain medicines include:
You can find a more complete list of side effects in a Consumer Medicine Information leaflet. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking any pain medicine to ensure it is safe for you.
Treat over-the-counter pain medicines with caution, just like any other medicines. It’s always good to discuss any medicines with your doctor or pharmacist.
General suggestions include:
