Understanding Chronic Pain

At some point we’ve all been there- having neck, back, or other pain that doesn’t go away hour after hour or day after day. You lose sleep, you’re irritable, and it’s difficult to concentrate because of the pain.

Pain usually functions as a warning system: to rest, avoid further injury, or seek treatment. This is called acute pain. Fortunately, for most of us this type of pain eventually goes away. But what if it doesn’t? What if the pain continued for months, even years? This is called chronic pain. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain in most cases does not serve the body a useful purpose. Rest or avoiding activity can actually make many chronic pain conditions worse. Then a vicious cycle develops. But, this chronic pain doesn’t have to continue. You can do something about it.

After a comprehensive pain evaluation, APSSC patients with chronic pain are prescribed various traditional and alternative pain management treatments which may include medications, acupuncture therapy, physical therapy, psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, biofeedback, behavior modification, interventional injections, as well as minimally invasive surgeries. As new scientific findings regarding the management and relief of chronic pain are discovered and established as safe treatments, doctors may employ these new treatments in the practice and care of these patients.