On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Pain is a signal in your nervous system that something may be wrong. It is an unpleasant feeling, such as a prick, tingle, sting, burn, or ache. Pain may be sharp or dull. You may feel pain in one area of your body, or all over. There are two types: acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain lets you know that you may be injured or have a problem you need to take care of. Chronic pain is different. The pain may last for weeks, months, or even years. The original cause may have been an injury or infection. There may be an ongoing cause of pain, such as arthritis or cancer. In some cases there is no clear cause. Environmental and psychological factors can make chronic pain worse.

Many older adults have chronic pain. Women also report having more chronic pain than men, and they are at a greater risk for many pain conditions. Some people have two or more chronic pain conditions.

Chronic pain is not always curable, but treatments can help. There are drug treatments, including pain relievers. There are also non-drug treatments, such as acupuncture, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

• Chronic Pain (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Antidepressants: Another Weapon against Chronic Pain (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Managing Pain: Moving Beyond Opioids (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Non-Drug Pain Management: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pain Relievers: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Coping with Chronic Pain (American Psychological Association) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Guide for Patients (National Center for PTSD)
• Employees with Chronic Pain (Office of Disability Employment Policy)

Specifics

• Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome (AMPS) (American College of Rheumatology) Also in Spanish
• Central Pain Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Myofascial Pain Syndrome (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Complementary Health Approaches for Chronic Pain: What the Science Says (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Chronic Pain (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: How initial perceptions of the effectiveness of mind and body complementary...
• Article: Do mindfulness interventions cause harm? Findings from the Learning to Apply...
• Article: Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Timed Goals and the Personal Health...
• Chronic Pain -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician (American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish
• NIH Pain Consortium

Older Adults

• Pain Management (American Geriatrics Society)

Patient Handouts

• Managing your chronic back pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pain and your emotions (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish