At Memorial Healthcare, the pain management department diagnoses various pain conditions and provides a host of treatment options. The adept pain specialists work with patients to develop personalized care plans that help them perform daily tasks and experience a higher quality of life. Patients trust Memorial Healthcare for compassionate service throughout Shiawassee County and its surrounding areas.
What Is Chronic Pain?
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 50 million American adults deal with chronic pain, making it one of the most common causes for seeking medical services. Similarly, pain problems put a tremendous cost burden on U.S. citizens. Besides healthcare bills, it also results in lost income for employees, compensation payments for employers, and sometimes legal expenses for businesses.
Chronic pain can be the side effect of a separate condition, such as arthritis, diabetes, or an autoimmune disease. Pain from an injury or illness can linger even after the patient has otherwise recovered from the health problem. In some cases, chronic pain seemingly has no physical cause at all. In these situations, the pain may arise for psychological reasons like anxiety, depression, or stress. Conversely, chronic pain can lead to these mental struggles, plus mood swings and insomnia.
Unlike acute pain that stems from an injury and lasts only until the patient is fully healed, chronic pain persists for an extended period. Usually, doctors call pain chronic when it lasts three months or longer. Areas of the body where people most often cite chronic pain include:
- Back
- Neck
- Muscle (fibromyalgia)
- Head (migraines)
- Neurogenic (related to the brain and nervous system)
- Joints (arthritis)
- Scar tissue
- Areas where they had cancer
Risk Factors for Chronic Pain
As mentioned, chronic pain can come from numerous injuries and diseases. However, certain factors put some people at greater risk than others. The following aspects can increase the likelihood that a person develops chronic pain:
- Old age
- Obesity
- Genetic makeup
- Smoking
- Demanding physical labor
