When pain presents itself, one's first instinct is to find relief from the pain. And while pain is the number one reason why people seek medical advice(1), it is interesting to note that everyone is an individual in regard to their own personal relationship to pain. Regardless of how one measures pain, it has a tremendous impact on society as a whole and is the reason for millions of lost work hours and, most importantly, a poor quality of life.

Pain is usually divided into two categories - acute and chronic. Acute pain is the type that comes on suddenly when a tissue has been injured. The injury can be the result of anything that is causing damage to body tissue such as trauma, surgery, or cancer. In acute pain, there is usually an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Also in acute pain, once the stimulus or reason for the pain is removed, the pain is usually reduced. Chronic pain can be, among other things, chronic lower-back pain, chronic headaches, cancer pain, or phantom limb pain. Chronic pain is generally associated with a chronic disease and lacks a clear cause. This is pain that exists past the normal expected healing time.

Pain can present itself as somatic meaning pertaining to the structure of the body; visceral, pertaining to the organs of the body; or neuropathic, pertaining to the nervous system. Somatic pain can be mild to severe and is generally characterized as being a dull, sharp, or aching pain. Visceral is described as being diffuse or gnawing. Both of these types of pain respond well to opioids. Neuropathic pain is a result of a peripheral nerve injury and can be burning, shooting, tingling, and/or numbing. Neuropathic pain usually requires more nontraditional analgesics.