Chronic pain is pain that persists despite medical therapy and intervention. Unlike acute pain, it doesn't subside weeks, months or even sometimes years after an initial injury or illness. In fact, some people suffer through decades of chronic pain in the absence of any specific past injury or evidence of disease.
Some common chronic pain conditions include pain that results from a sprained back, a serious infection, arthritis, cancer, head trauma or neurological dysfunction of the central or peripheral nervous system. Autoimmune conditions, diabetes and heart disease can also bring on chronic pain.
What is the Source of Pain?
Pain is a natural response to injury or tissue and organ damage. Pain occurs when nerve endings called pain receptors are activated.
There are millions of pain receptors in the body. These receptors can be triggered by trauma, excessive heat or cold, physical pressure or chemical changes within body tissues that signal damage.
When a pain receptor is activated at the site of the injury or illness, it triggers the release of chemical messengers that transmit electrical impulses to the brain. When the impulses reach the brain, the brain interprets the electrical signals as the unpleasant sensation we call "pain." For those who suffer from chronic pain, the brain constantly receives these electrical "pain" messages.
How Many People Suffer from Chronic Pain?
According to the American Chronic Pain Association, about 86 million people in the United States cope with some form of chronic pain.
Chronic Pain Treatments
Some people find relief with certain medications. Others find that acupuncture, local electrical stimulation, and brain stimulation help. Psychotherapy, relaxation and medication therapies, biofeedback, and behavior modification are other alternative treatments for chronic pain.
Why Come to the University of Maryland Medical Center for Chronic Pain Management?
Being that chronic pain is a multifaceted and complex syndrome, which adversely affects a person's physical, emotional, socioeconomic, and spiritual foundations, we have a team of specialists here at the University of Maryland dedicated to helping patients manage and find relief from their pain.
The professionals at the University of Maryland Pain Center integrate traditional and complementary medicine and use a multidisciplinary team approach to enrich the lives of their patients. They collaborate with psychologists, physical therapists, nurses, neurologists, radiologists and other specialists throughout the UM Medical System to make sure that patients get all of the help they need to effectively manage their pain.
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