Pain is a warning signal that something is wrong.
Acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to alert us to possible injury and the need to take care of ourselves.
However, chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists, with or without an initial accident or ongoing cause, or even evidence of bodily damage. The pain signals just keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years.
Many chronic pain conditions affect older adults.
Common chronic pain complaints include:
- headache
- low back pain
- cancer pain
- arthritis pain
- neurogenic pain (pain resulting from damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself)
- psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of damage inside or outside the nervous system)
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