Pain

Clinical answers to the most common patient questions about Pain.

What is Pain?

Pain is an unpleasant sensation that signals possible injury or illness. It ranges from brief and mild to long-lasting and severe. Short-lived (acute) pain usually has a clear cause and improves as the body heals; pain lasting beyond three months is described as chronic and needs a different approach.

What are the symptoms of Pain?

Common symptoms of Pain include aching, throbbing or burning sensation, sharp or stabbing sensation, stiffness or restricted movement, tenderness on touch, disturbed sleep, low mood or irritability with long-lasting pain and reduced ability to carry out daily activities.

What causes Pain?

Pain is commonly caused by injury, strain or sprain, arthritis and joint degeneration, nerve compression or damage, infection or inflammation, poor posture or repetitive strain, surgery and recovery and headache and migraine disorders.

Who is most at risk of Pain?

Risk factors for Pain include previous injury, physically demanding or repetitive work, sedentary lifestyle and deconditioning, excess body weight, increasing age and anxiety, depression or poor sleep.

How is Pain diagnosed?

Pain is usually diagnosed using clinical history and pain assessment, physical and functional examination, X-ray, MRI or CT where a structural cause is suspected, nerve conduction studies for suspected nerve pain and blood tests to identify inflammatory causes.

How is Pain treated?

Treatment for Pain typically involves treating the underlying cause, physiotherapy and structured exercise, activity modification and pacing, heat or cold application, pain-relieving medication under medical guidance, injection therapy in selected cases and psychological approaches for long-lasting pain.

Can Pain be prevented?

Regular activity, sensible lifting technique, good workstation setup and early treatment of injury before it becomes long-lasting.

When should someone see a doctor about Pain?

Seek medical advice about Pain if you experience sudden severe chest pain, or pain spreading to the arm or jaw, sudden severe headache unlike any before, abdominal pain with a rigid abdomen or vomiting blood, pain after significant injury with visible deformity, back pain with loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness between the legs and pain with fever and a spreading red area on the skin.

What is the outlook for Pain?

Most acute pain improves substantially within days to weeks once the cause is addressed. Chronic pain is usually manageable rather than curable, and outcomes are best where treatment combines physical rehabilitation with attention to sleep and mood.