About pain

Pain is your built-in alarm system. It grabs your attention and signals that you're in danger. You'd better do something fast - drop a burning hot pan, for example - before you do yourself some serious damage. And while you're recovering from the injury, pain may be reminding you to take it easy and protect the damaged area.

Most cases of pain are an acute, short-lasting event, and come in many guises - a sharp twinge, a throb, a dull ache or a piercing, searing soreness.

But for some people, the pain is not a temporary thing following an injury, but rather a chronic or long - term pain. This type of pain does not necessarily have a protective function and may be due to an underlying medical condition or damage to nerve tissue. Sometimes there is no cause to be found.

This chronic pain needs specialist diagnosis and treatment. It can be difficult to live with and, as you may have found, can stop you from doing things you enjoy, affect your appetite and your mood.

The good news is that there are many ways to treat such pain - and not just with medicines. Working with your healthcare team can help you find the treatment that works for you, and allows you to get on with your life.

In order to find the best possible pain relief, you need to understand the type of pain you're tackling. You also need to know what you can do for yourself - and how specialist support can make a difference.

There are many myths and misconceptions about pain - see how much you know by taking our true or false quiz.

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Types of pain

Pain is described according to how long you have had it and what is happening in your nervous system. It’s important to think about how long you have been in pain and what might be causing it because this will help you and your medical team find the right treatment for you.

1. Acute pain

   This pain generally lasts less than three months.

2. Chronic pain

   This pain lasts for more than three months. If you have chronic pain, it may have started with an initial problem such as an injury or you may have an ongoing cause of the pain, such as arthritis, but some people suffer chronic pain with no apparent cause. Types of pain are also described as ‘nociceptive’ or ‘neuropathic’. These can be both short term (acute) and long lasting (chronic).

3. Nociceptive pain

   This pain is caused by an injury outside the nervous system. This is the protective pain that you feel when you hurt or injure yourself. It’s usually caused by inflammation or damage to the muscles, bones or ligaments. If this is caused by an underlying medical condition it still has a protective effect - for example, if it’s caused by arthritis the pain may limit how you can move your joint to avoid further damage.

4. Neuropathic pain

   This is a type of chronic pain caused by damage to the nerves that carry signals to the spinal cord and brain. This type of pain is often described as shooting or burning and feeling numb, cold or weak, so tends to be very different from the protective kind that you get if you hurt yourself. The nerve damage may have been caused by an accident, an infection such as shingles or certain conditions such as multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia. Neuropathic pain usually needs specialist treatment. You can get mixed pain, when you get both nociceptive and neuropathic pain at the same time. Pain can also be persistent, when it’s there all the time, or intermittent, when it comes and goes.

You can get mixed pain, when you get both nociceptive and neuropathic pain at the same time. Pain can also be persistent, when it’s there all the time, or intermittent, when it comes and goes.