Pain management is a specialty in medical science which deals
with various pain syndromes and factors causing the pain. Currently, this
branch of medicine has become the most important factor regarding care of
terminally ill persons.
Pain is an unpleasant feeling in a particular part of the
body. Basically pain can be classified into three depending on the part where
it is felt. This includes somatic pain, visceral pain, and neuropathic pain.
And all the three types of pains come either under acute pain or chronic
pain.
Acute pains commonly last for a short period of time, may be
a week or two. But, chronic pains will remain for months or years depending on
the cause of pain. Chronic pains may be intermittent or continuous. Acute
pains are usually caused by inflammation, tissue damage, injury, or acute
illness such as pharyngitis and headaches. Chronic pain may be caused from a
previous injury or ongoing illness like arthritis, cancer, nerve damage, and
chronic infection.
Generally, pain management takes a multidisciplinary approach
to reduce or manage the pain. This is usually conducted on outpatients.
Depending on the type of the pain, a wide variety of medications and
treatments are available. Injection treatments, nerve blocks, physical and
aquatic therapy, electrical stimulation, acupuncture, and psychological
support are some of the successful methods for treating both acute and chronic
pains. Apart from these, surgery can be considered to get relief from highly
chronic pains.
Pain management is a growing field of medicine, and there are
a number of pain management centers. The pain management centers are also
known by various names like pain clinic, pain center, pain unit and pain
service. And, it is an important division in most of the hospitals and medical
clinics.
