Re: NINDS Chronic Pain Information Page
From: Jeannie Quinn (anniegetyourgun@sympatico.ca)
Sat Mar 1 13:22:14 2003
HI Helen
I have been a member of the pain clinic here in Ottawa for the past 10 years
I have had cryobrobing, triggerpoint injections, physiotherapy,
accupuncture, epidurals, and even surgery, they have run out of treatments
for me.....
-------Original Message-------
From: adhesions@adhesions.org
Date: Saturday, March 01, 2003 14:51:42
To: Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS
Subject: NINDS Chronic Pain Information Page
X> NINDS Chronic Pain Information Page (July 1, 2001).....What is Chronic
Pain? ... Is there any treatment? ...What is the prognosis? ... What
research is being done?.....
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/chronic_pain.htm
NOTE: If entire Url is not highlighted, the last part should be:
--
" disorders/chronic_pain.htm "
What is Chronic Pain? While acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in
the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care
of yourself, chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists. Pain signals
keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years. There may
have been an initial mishap -- sprained back, serious infection, or there
may be an ongoing cause of pain -- arthritis, cancer, ear infection, but
some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or
evidence of body damage. 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).
Is there any treatment? Medications, acupuncture, local electrical
stimulation, and brain stimulation, as well as surgery, are some treatments
for chronic pain. Some physicians use placebos, which in some cases has
resulted in a lessening or elimination of pain. Psychotherapy, relaxation
and medication therapies, biofeedback, and behavior modification may also be
employed to treat chronic pain.
What is the prognosis? Many people with chronic pain can be helped if they
understand all the causes of pain and the many and varied steps that can be
taken to undo what chronic pain has done. Scientists believe that advances
in neuroscience will lead to more and better treatments for chronic pain in
the years to come.
What research is being done? Clinical investigators have tested chronic
pain patients and found that they often have lower-than-normal levels of
endorphins in their spinal fluid. Investigations of acupuncture include
wiring the needles to stimulate nerve endings electrically
(electroacupuncture), which some researchers believe activates endorphin
systems. Other experiments with acupuncture have shown that there are higher
levels of endorphins in cerebrospinal fluid following acupuncture.
Investigators are studying the effect of stress on the experience of chronic
pain. Chemists are synthesizing new analgesics and discovering painkilling
virtues in drugs not normally prescribed for pain.
X> Organizations:
American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) ..... http://www.theacpa.org
National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain ..... http://www.paincare.org
All NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke)--prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely
copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.