What’s the Difference? Are They Treated the Same?
If your life has been affected by pain, you’re not alone. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that, on average, more than 130 million people seek medical care every year for some type of pain. Some 80 million of those patients (about 60% of all pain victims) report acute pain, and another 50 million seek relief from chronic pain. What’s the difference between chronic pain and acute pain? How are they treated?
What Is Acute Pain?
Acute pain is generally defined as pain that lasts for a specific period of time, often hours or days, but almost always less than three months. Acute pain usually involves a sudden onset of discomfort, commonly as the result of an accident or clearly defined, short-term illness. Acute pain tends to be more severe or intense than chronic pain and serves as an early warning sign of trauma to your body.
Most acute pain is localized to an extremely specific part of your body, such as a limb, tendon, ligament, or muscle. Common causes of acute pain include sprains, strains, muscle tears, fractures, cuts, and bruises, often associated with slips and falls, motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, and burn injuries.
What Is Chronic Pain?
Pain that persists for more than three months is generally referred to as chronic pain. Chronic pain tends to be less sharp than acute pain, often manifesting as a dull ache or nagging discomfort. It may arise out of the same incident that led to acute pain, such as a car accident or slip and fall, but it often develops and becomes worse over time. Whereas acute pain tends to be episodic, with short bursts of severe pain, chronic pain is generally systemic, with victims experiencing some level of pain most or all of the time.
Is Chronic Pain Treated Differently Than Acute Pain?
Because acute pain typically resolves within a short period of time, the goal of acute pain management is to alleviate pain while the body heals. Accordingly, acute pain management may focus more on pain medications, such as anti-inflammatory drugs or painkillers.
Chronic pain, on the other hand, assumes that the body will not completely heal and that additional measures are required to minimize pain. Those measures may include blocks or injections, spinal cord stimulation, radiofrequency ablation, or even surgical intervention.
Contact Us To Schedule an Appointment With a Proven Pain Management Specialist
At Advantage Healthcare Systems, we have extensive experience working successfully with anyone suffering from acute or chronic pain. We have the experience, skills, and tools to accurately and quickly determine the extent of your injury, and we’ll either prescribe medication and monitor your care or refer you to a specialist, such as a physiatrist or neurologist, if necessary.
Call us toll-free at 1-877-487-8289 or fill out the form provided below to schedule an assessment. We offer locations across Texas, including Fort Worth, Dallas, and San Antonio.
