Pain is a sign that something has happened in your body, that something may be wrong. Acute pain happens quickly and goes away when there is no more cause for the pain, but chronic pain lasts longer than six months and can continue when the injury or illness has been treated.
What is the difference between acute and chronic pain?
Acute pain usually comes on suddenly often as a result of an injury or disease. It is often sharp in quality. Acute pain serves a useful biologic purpose and is often associated with skeletal muscle spasm. Acute pain is usually self-limited and doesn’t last longer than six months. Some, but not all, acute pain goes way when there is no longer an underlying cause for the pain.
Causes of acute pain include such things as:
- Surgery.
- Broken bones.
- Dental work.
- Burns or cuts.
- Slips and falls
- Pulled muscles/tendon injuries
- Labour and childbirth.
Chronic pain is pain that is ongoing and usually lasts longer than six months. It is pain that, if associated with a disease or injury, outlasts the normal time of healing. As such, it may be considered to be a disease state.
Chronic pain also may arise from psychological states.
Chronic pain serves no biologic purpose, and has no recognizable end-point. This type of pain can continue even after the injury or illness that caused it has healed or gone away. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months or years. Some people suffer chronic pain even when there is no past injury or apparent body damage.
It is estimated that 7.63 million, or one in four Canadians aged 15 or older, live with chronic pain. Chronic pain has significant impacts on physical and mental health, family and community life, society, and the economy. The total direct and indirect cost of chronic pain was estimated to be $38.3 to $40.4 billion in 2019.
Chronic pain occurs with conditions such as:
- Headache.
- Arthritis.
- Poor posture
- Nerve pain.
- Back pain.
- Fibromyalgia.
- Diabetes
If you have chronic pain, the stress may manifest itself in the body and produce physical conditions such as:
- Tense muscles.
- A limited ability to move around.
- A lack of energy.
- Changes in appetite.
Chronic pain also causes emotional effects such as:
- Depression.
- Isolation from social activities
- Anger.
- Anxiety.
- Fear of re-injury.
These emotional effects may also limit your ability to return to work or leisure activities.
Physiotherapy treatment for pain
Physiotherapy for acute pain is aimed at treating the underlying cause of the pain and interrupting the pain signals, while the therapy of chronic pain must rely on a multidisciplinary approach (physiotherapy, chronic pain physician, psychologist etc.) and should involve more than one therapeutic modality. The physiotherapists at Maplecare Physiotherapy are experienced in treating both acute and chronic pain.
Physiotherapy treatment to relieve your pain may include:
- soft tissue massage and stretching to relieve tension and spasm
- joint mobilizations
- acupuncture, electro-therapy, ultrasound, heat or ice
- corrective exercise and posture awareness
- cardiovascular and strengthening programs
- advice on how to function in your daily activities.
