FocusOnChronicPain.com - Diseases & Conditions - Chronic Pain

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MedicineNet Home > FocusOnChronicPain.com > Diseases Conditions > Chronic Pain

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3 additional Chronic Pain related articles --

100% doctor-produced. Click Here

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Chronic Pain

Introduction

A brief history of pain

The two faces of pain: acute and chronic

The A to Z of pain

How is pain diagnosed?

How is pain treated?

What is the role of age and gender in pain?

Pain affects men and women differently

Pain in aging and pediatric populations: special needs and concerns

A pain primer: what do we know about pain?

What is the future of pain research?

Appendix

Spine basics: the vertebrae, discs and spinal cord

The nervous system

Phantom pain: how does the brain feel?

Chili peppers, capsaicin and pain

Marijuana

Nerve blocks

Introduction

The Universal Disorder You know it at once. It may be the fiery sensation of a burn moments after your finger touches the stove. Or it's a dull ache above your brow after a day of stress and tension. Or you may recognize it as a sharp pierce in your back after you lift something heavy.

It is pain. In its most benign form, it warns us that something isn't quite right, that we should take medicine or see a doctor. At its worst, however, pain

robs us of our productivity, our well-being, and, for many of us suffering from

extended illness, our very lives. Pain is a complex perception that differs

enormously among individual patients, even those who appear to have identical

injuries or illnesses.

In 1931, the French medical missionary Dr. Albert Schweitzer wrote, "Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself." Today, pain has become the universal disorder, a serious and costly public health issue, and a challenge for family, friends, and health care providers who

must give support to the individual suffering from the physical as well as the

emotional consequences of pain.

A brief history of pain

Ancient civilizations recorded on stone tablets

accounts of pain and the treatments used: pressure, heat, water, and sun. Early

humans related pain to evil, magic, and demons. Relief of pain was the

responsibility of sorcerers, shamans, priests, and priestesses, who used herbs,

rites, and ceremonies as their treatments.

The Greeks and Romans were the first to advance a theory of sensation, the idea that the brain and nervous system have a role in producing the perception of pain. But it was not until the Middle Ages and well into the Renaissance-the 1400s and 1500s-that evidence began to accumulate in support of these theories. Leonardo da Vinci and his contemporaries came to believe that the brain was the central organ responsible for sensation. Da Vinci also developed the idea that

the spinal cord transmits sensations to the brain.

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For more information, visit MedicineNet's Chronic Pain Center See what experts say about Chronic PainIn Newspapers and Magazines (partner link)Last Editorial Review: 5/14/02

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