Pain - Chronic

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institutes of Health
1 AMS Circle
Bethesda, MD 20892–3675
Phone: 301–495–4484 or
877–22–NIAMS (226–4267) (free of charge)
TTY: 301–565–2966
Fax: 301–718–6366
E-mail: NIAMSInfo@mail.nih.gov
http://www.niams.nih.gov/

NIAMS provides information about various forms of arthritis and rheumatic disease and bone, muscle, joint, and skin diseases. It distributes patient and professional education materials and refers people to other sources of information. Additional information and updates can also be found on the NIAMS Web site.

How does pain affect sleep?

Pain triggers poor sleep; however, initially pain does not affect sleep at all. It’s only after pain has occurred for a while that sleep starts to become fragmented.

How does this fragmentation occur? Microarousals occur throughout the night, and sometimes prevent the person from returning to sleep. These microarousals can occur hourly.

Sciatica: The Word Sends Shivers Down My Back

I can remember, about 10 years ago, when a nagging pain occurred in my left hip. Especially at night, before I fell asleep, the discomfort would increase. A hip replacement would probably be needed soon, I rationalized.

There are literally hundreds of pain syndromes, but this site explains the most common ones. You can find information here on:

• Arachnoiditis
• Arthritis
• Back pain

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.

The early signs of a shingles outbreak are like the symptoms of many other diseases: flu-like symptoms (headache, fever, chills), numbness, pain, itching, a rash.

Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the pain that can last for months or even years after a bout with shingles.

Surgery, medicine or "watchful waiting" are the most common choices for dealing with most noncancerous uterine conditions according to .

If you feel intense pain in your pelvis, but the doctor can find no cause, you may have chronic pelvic pain. If this is the case, anti-inflammatory medicines that contain ibuprofen, birth control pills, and physical therapy may be suggested by your doctor.

A 53 year old Maryland psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Gleason, was arrested, and later charged for doing something that has become common among doctors: promoting a drug for purposes other than those approved by the federal government.

Sciatica may be called a ruptured disc, a pinched nerve, or a slipped disk and is often diagnosed as a radiculopathy.