Pain Is a Unique Experience

Pain is a unique experience for each individual and no two people experience pain in precisely the same way," and thus understanding pain can be quite complicated (Complimentary Therapists, 2013). There are a number of different kinds of pain that have both similarities and differences between one another. Yet, patient factors can also impact the physiology of pain as well.

Acute Pain

The most common type of pain for the larger population is acute pain. This is essentially the short-term type of pain that results directly from an injury or illness. Essentially, it is the body's way of telling the patient that there is something clearly wrong. According to the research, "acute pain is a normal response by the body to sickness or damage" and "in most cases it is not prolonged" (Complimentary Therapists, 2013). It is the direct result of harmful stimuli. Acute pain is sharp and immediate, yet it often subsides much faster than the other types of pain. Thus, "under normal conditions, noxious stimuli diminish as healing processes and pain sensation lessens until minimal or no pain is detected" (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010).

Chronic Pain

On the other hand, chronic pain is much more long-term. It often lasts more than three months of whatever harmful stimulus had caused it in the first place. Chronic pain can even continue, even after healing has finished (Complimentary Therapists, 2013). Acute pain can become chronic if the healing process is impacted by various patient factors, like diet or age. Here, the research suggests that "persistent, intense pain, however, activates secondary mechanisms both at the periphery and within the central nervous system that cause allodynia, hyperglesia, and hyperpathia that can diminish normal functioning" (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010). Various illnesses can also result in chronic pain, including "arthritis, rheumatic disorders, and long-term conditions such as lupus" (Complimentary Therapists, 2013). As such, chronic pain proves to last much longer than acute based on its persistence.

Referred Pain

In contrast to acute and chronic pain, where pain is pretty much in the same location of the injury or issue, referred pain is pain which is at a different location than the actual injury. As such, a person may be injured in one location, but perceives pain in another location of the body (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010). Referred pain can be both acute and chronic, depending on the injury or sickness which causes it in each patient case. The one major difference is that referred pain "is experienced at some remove from where the pain actually begins" (Complimentary Therapists, 2013).

Patient Factors