May 12 2008
Pain That Has No Diagnosed Physical Cause
What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is the long term pain that is felt after an injury has already healed, condition been cured, or for any unknown cause. Chronic pain was formerly defined as a pain that lasted over six months, then it was three months, and now it is widely accepted to be any pain that last longer than what normal healing time would be. It is also used to define pain that is caused by an unknown or incurable condition, such as fibromyalgia.
Going Through the Tests
There are many diagnostic procedures that you will go through in an attempt to find the cause of your chronic pain. Blood tests, mental health screenings, x-rays and MRIs, and a full health history will be the focus. If the doctors can find a psychological or physical reason for your pain then they can work toward the right pain management plan for you. There are those people, however, that will have pain and no reasonable cause for it.
Sensitization
The cause of some chronic pain is just not understood. There may be no clear cut evidence of a disease or injury, or the injury may have already healed and the pain continues. There are those individuals that doctors are unable to find a reason for them to be in the pain they feel.
Chronic pain may be from a process called sensitization. Sensitization is where your nervous system will increase or distort the pain signals you are having. This can be from inflammation, where nociceptors (the receptors that will detect actual or potential damage to the tissues) spark with more intensity, at a lower pain threshold, and for a longer period of time. Sensitization in the spinal cord is from a chemical reaction. This reaction amplifies pain messages sent to the brain. It will be felt in all the pain processing parts from sensing to the thinking areas of the brain. Chronic pain can be attributed to emotional and psychological suffering because of this pain processing sensitization.
