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What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is any pain that lasts for over three months. Various factors, such as injuries, ailments, and psychological issues, contribute to persistent pain. It can occur in children and adults. This blog focuses on chronic pain, examining its indications, root causes, and practical approaches to managing it.
What are the Causes of Chronic Pain?
Chronic/persistent pain can arise due to medical conditions like spinal issues, nerve compression, or pre-existing ailments such as diabetes or hypertension. Its occurrence varies depending on the type—approximately 2 to 3 individuals per 100,000 experience some form of chronic pain.
Below are some of the frequent triggers of chronic pain:
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Diseases
Numerous conditions, including arthritis, diabetes leading to diabetic neuropathy, cancer, damaged nerves – commonly Trigeminal Neuralgia (facial pain), and myofascial pain, and fibromyalgia can lead to chronic pain.
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Psychological Factors
Psychological factors like stress, anxiety, or PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) can also contribute to chronic pain.
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Lifestyle factors such as poor posture, sedentary jobs, prolonged sitting, lack of physical activity, etc.
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Injury
Chronic pain may result from a preceding injury, such as an automobile or sports-related accident.
What are the chronic pain symptoms?
The most common symptom associated with chronic pain is pain lasting longer than 3 months. Other symptoms may include:
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Intense or incapacitating pain. chronic pain symptoms
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Pain that intensifies with physical activity.
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Occurrence of pain when stressed.
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Accompanying symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood changes, or reduced concentration.
How to Diagnose Chronic Pain?
A comprehensive examination of the affected area and its effects on a patient's daily activities is essential for diagnosing chronic pain. At Manipal Hospitals, we take a multi-dimensional approach - evaluate for any lateralizing signs to identify the root cause, assess stress levels, and rule out any red flags that require urgent medical attention.
Treatment Options for Chronic Pain
The choice of treatment options varies based on the patient's cause, intensity, and overall condition. Chronic pain is commonly managed through medications, counselling, psychotherapy cognitive behavioural therapy, lifestyle modification, and minimally invasive guided intervention. With a close association with medical experts from Clinical Psychology, Rehabilitation, Neurology and Neurosurgery, our aim is to alleviate the chronic pain (with or without a cause) experienced by our patients.
Below are the standard treatment approaches at our facility:
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Medications
These include pain relievers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure medications.
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Physical Therapy
Indeed, physical therapy is crucial in enhancing flexibility, strengthening muscles, and improving range of motion.
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Lifestyle Changes
Implementing lifestyle changes, such as a good sleep cycle, stress management, weight loss, and adopting a routine exercise regimen, can also reduce pain.
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Minimally invasive procedures to help with pain relief.
Follow These Tips to Manage Your Chronic Pain If You Have a Desk Job
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Maintain the correct posture while using electronic devices or at the office.
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Sit on a good chair to keep your back straight.
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Take frequent breaks during work hours – 5-10 minutes of break each hour.
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Lead an active lifestyle. Perform regular physical activity like a daily one-hour walk and aerobic exercises.
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Seek psychological support and therapy to address psychological factors, such as stress, anxiety, and trauma.
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Maintain a good sleep schedule of 7-8 hours and sleep hygiene to improve sleep. Electronic devices emitting blue light may disturb sleep, thus better be avoided just before sleep.
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Have a diet rich in antioxidants.
Chronic pain can severely impact your well-being. There are numerous treatment alternatives accessible to address it. If you are enduring chronic pain, seek medical assistance at Manipal Hospitals Old Airport Road for diagnosis and timely treatment.
FAQs
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What makes chronic pain different from acute pain?
Acute pain lasts for a short while and subsides on its own. Chronic pain doesn’t go away even after three months and may require consultation with a Pain Medicine Specialist.
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How to approach a doctor when discussing chronic pain?
You must prepare yourself well and enlist all the symptoms accompanying chronic pain. Do not hide anything relevant from your pain specialist in Old Airport Road.
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What are the treatment methods to manage chronic pain?
Treatment for chronic pain largely depends on the cause of the pain. If your pain is related to stress, then stress management techniques, counselling, along with a few medications. After a thorough evaluation, we offer minimally invasive treatment options which are done on an outpatient/daycare basis consisting of image-guided injections to the spine, nerves, joints, and other soft tissues. We also offer neuroablation therapy like Radio-frequency Ablation/Balloon Compression for the treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia and other long-term painful disorders.
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