How to Differentiate Between Sharp Pain and Other Types of Pain: Symptoms to Know
While pain is an indication that something is wrong in the body, what is it? How to find it? Pain can be caused by many factors and different types of pain are linked with different causes. Some pain lasts for a short period and does not require medical attention. But some pain comes, goes, and needs medical attention. How to find it? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read this article to learn about different types of pain and when to seek medical help. Log on to www.doralhw.org for a consultation.
What causes pain?
Pain is still being studied to understand how and why people feel pain in different ways. Some pain causes are better understood such as acute pain (happening due to an infection or broken bone) is understood better than chronic pain. The research has found that factors and changes in the body (biological), the mind (psychological), and a person’s experiences with others accompanied by environmental conditions (social) they live in, all lead to an individual’s experience of pain. That’s why pain is known as a biopsychosocial experience.
Biological factors linked with pain include things like brain function and genetics. Psychological factors like mood and stress can affect your pain. Social factors involve things like having or lack of a support system or experiencing biased care. Each of these factors impacts each other and makes your pain severe. Therefore, treating pain is both complex and individual.
Types of pain
There are 5 most common types of pain, but some pain can fit into more than one category, which is also considered a complication. Here are the 5 main types of pain:
- Acute pain:
This type of pain occurs for a short duration, lasting from several minutes to 3 months (sometimes even 6 months). This pain starts sharp but gets better over time. It can occur suddenly and has a specific cause, usually tissue injury or a temporary illness. The pain goes away once the underlying cause gets better. However, if the injury doesn’t heal correctly or pain signals malfunction, it can turn into chronic pain. Often, acute pain is caused by:
- Broken bones
- Surgery
- Dental work
- Labor and childbirth
- Cuts
- Burns
- Chronic pain:
This type of pain lasts longer in duration than acute pain, which can be constant or intermittent. For example, headaches are a type of chronic pain that can continue over many months or years even when the original injury or pain is healed. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months, or even years. Even some people suffer from this pain without any past injury or apparent body damage. Common conditions linked with chronic pain include:
- Headache
- Arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Cancer
- Nerve pain
- Back pain
With chronic pain, stress affects the body and causes physical symptoms like:
- Tense muscles
- Limited mobility
- Lack of energy
- Appetite changes
Chronic pain also affects your mood and emotions and causes symptoms of:
- Depression
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Fear of re-injury. This fear makes you worried about returning to work or leisure activities.
- Neuropathic pain:
This type of pain occurs from damage to the nerves or dysfunction of the nervous system. This pain feels like it occurs suddenly without any specific injury. It is also sensitive to touch and makes it difficult to handle hot and cold sensations. Neuropathic pain is also a type of chronic pain, which means it is intermittent and can be severe, making everyday tasks difficult. This pain can even interfere with your normal movement, which leads to mobility issues. This pain is described as:
- Burning
- Freezing
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Shooting
- Stabbing
- Electric shocks
Diabetes is one of the most popular causes of neuropathic pain. Other sources of nerve injury or dysfunction that cause neuropathic pain include:
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Accidents
- Infections
- Facial nerve problems such as Bell’s palsy
- Spinal nerve inflammation or compression
- Shingles
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- HIV
- Central nervous system disorders like Multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy drugs
- Nociceptive pain:
This type of pain occurs due to damage to body tissue. This type of tissue damage can stimulate the pain receptors which are called nociceptors. These receptors are present throughout your body, especially on the skin and internal organs. This pain is described as a sharp, achy, or throbbing pain, often caused by an external injury and inflammation. For example, if you hit your elbow, stub your toe, twist your ankle, or fall and scrape up your knee, you feel this pain. This type of pain is mostly experienced in the joints, muscles, skin, tendons, and bones. It can be either acute or chronic.
- Radicular pain:
This is a very specific type of pain that occurs when the spinal nerves get compressed or inflamed. This radiates from the back and hip into the legs to your spinal nerve root. This type of pain causes tingling, numbness, and muscle weakness. Pain that radiates from the back of the legs is called radiculopathy. It’s commonly known as sciatica because the pain involves the sciatic nerve being affected. This type of pain is usually steady, and people feel it deeply in the leg during walking, sitting on a chair, and some other activities. This is the most common form of radicular pain.
When to see a doctor?
While most pain occurs due to injury or illness, it doesn’t need medical attention. However, if your pain lasts longer than expected from the injury or illness, or you don’t know the cause, you should call your doctor. While normal pain can be ignored, unless you have a serious injury, regardless of your pain severity or tolerance, you should see a doctor. If you have other symptoms besides pain, such as significant bleeding, joint, or bone malformation, swelling, or difficulty performing everyday tasks, you should visit the doctor.
Here are some causes of pain that need medical attention:
- Arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Diabetes
- A herniated disc in the neck or back
- Cancer
- Chronic migraine headaches
- Compressed or pinched nerve
- Sciatica
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Heart attack
- Stroke
Pain can occur due to many reasons and many factors can affect its severity. However, the pain caused by injury or illness gets better when the injury is healed, or the illness subsides. In case your pain lasts longer than expected, is intermittent, or causes other symptoms, then you should seek medical attention.
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Your pain needs professional assistance, visit our pain management clinic in Brooklyn today or call to get a consultation. The location at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212 is well-served by public transportation, including many bus routes, and the subway line. Visit our website at http://www.painmanagementbrooklyn.com/ or contact us on +1-347-384-5690 for additional details.