Pain Relief

Pain is an unpleasant feeling which may be associated with actual or potential tissue damage and which may have physical and emotional components.

Despite its causing suffering, pain is a critical component of the body's defense system. It is part of a rapid warning relay instructing the motor neurons of the central nervous system to minimize detected physical harm. Lack of the ability to experience pain, as in the rare condition Congenital insensitivity to pain or Congenital Analgesia, can cause various health problems.

The two most common forms of pain reported in the U.S. are headache and back pain.

Acute pain is defined as short-term pain or pain with an easily identifiable cause. Acute pain is the body's warning of present damage to tissue or disease. It is often fast and sharp followed by aching pain. Acute pain is centralized in one area before becoming somewhat spread out. This type of pain responds well to medications.