Understanding chronic pain.

ANSWER: Unlike acute pain, which warns of actual or potential tissue damage, chronic pain serves no useful purpose. Pain scientists still aren’t sure why chronic pain develops, but they do know that the longer pain stimuli act on the central nervous system (CNS), the more likely chronic pain is to develop. Early recognition and treatment of a patient’s acute pain helps prevent sensitization of the CNS, which can lead to chronic pain. But if your patient is already experiencing chronic pain, focus your assessment and treatment on possible underlying causes of pain and symptom management. Research indicates that chronic pain is best treated using a multidisciplinary approach. To understand why and how certain drugs work for chronic pain, let’s look at central sensitization, the mechanism by which acute pain turns chronic.