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Categorizing Pain

Pain can be characterized in many different ways, but one of the simplest ways to categorize pain is to break it into three basic types.  Below is a quick summary of the 3 basic types of pain and the main properties of each type of pain.

  1. Neuropathic pain is usually caused by damage or injury to the nervous system, and probably responsible for a lot of chronic pain conditions.  This type of pain does not usually respond well to  the drugs we commonly think of as pain medications, such as Tylenol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen or Opioid medications.  This kind of pain can be the result of injury, such as an accident, or health conditions such as shingles. It can also be a result of cancer or cancer chemotherapy. 
  2. Somatic (nocioceptive) pain is pain experienced following surgery, broken bones,  toothaches, etc.  It is the localized assault to body tissues that causes the pain sensation.  This kind of pain usually resolves as healing progresses.  It is also more likely to respond to traditional pain medications than neuropathic pain conditions.
  3. Visceral pain is the cramping or pressure like sensation felt in the visceral cavity that we all may feel from one time to another.  In more serious situations it can be the result of cancer metastases, diverticulitis, pancreatitis, etc.  It can be challenging to pinpoint the cause because visceral pain sensation is not localized.
Another way to characterize pain is to consider whether it is acute or chronic. Acute pain is usually intermittent and/or less than 3 months duration. A person with chronic pain does not necessarily experience high intensity pain, but the situation is present consistently beyond 3 months time.
Knowing a little more about how to characterize the pain experience can help you to provide your health care team care for you in a more effective way.  Here's hoping that this short lesson will help you on your way!


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