When pain lasts for months – or even years — it's chronic. The definition of chronic pain is long-lasting pain that disrupts how you live your life.
When pain doesn't go away, it can affect your mental health.
Chronic pain is a common complaint that doctors hear.
Pain can start right away after an illness, injury, or health treatment (acute pain). But when pain doesn't resolve months after healing, doctors see it as chronic.
Learn more about:
Doctors define chronic pain by how long it lasts. If you're still feeling pain 3 to 6 months after healing from an illness or injury, it's chronic.
You may feel it all over your body or in a distinct area.
You may also have chronic pain if you have certain health issues or if you're having cancer treatment.
Chronic pain can affect your body's systems.
It can trigger your body's stress response and affect your:
There are a few types of chronic pain. You may have more than one type at the same time.
An immune system response to an infection or health problem can cause pain that lasts.
Chronic pain can result from autoimmune disorders like:
You may have chronic pain because of an issue that affects your bones, connective tissue, and muscles, such as:
Problems or injuries that affect your nerves can cause chronic pain.
These include:
Sometimes, chronic pain happens for no clear reason. You don't have an injury, illness, or issue that's causing pain.
Instead, your mind is causing chronic pain due to mental health or personal factors.
Doctors no longer use the outdated term "psychogenic pain" to describe this type of chronic pain.
Pain is your body's normal response to a certain issue.
When you're injured or ill, nerves send signals to your brain. Special receptors (neurons) in your brain get these signals and make you feel pain.
When you have chronic pain, your body sends these signals to your brain nonstop.
You may be more likely to have chronic pain if you have certain risk factors. And it may get worse if you don't see a doctor when you should.
You may be at higher risk for chronic pain if you are:
Chronic pain can affect your mental well-being and quality of life.
If you take medicines for a long time to treat chronic pain, you may have side effects. You could also become addicted to certain pain medicines.
Back to top.Chronic pain symptoms vary.
You may feel stiffness or pain that's:
Chronic pain may also cause you to:
To diagnose chronic pain, your doctor will talk with you about your symptoms and examine you. They'll ask you how long you've been feeling pain.
They may also order:
Doctors can't always cure chronic pain. Chronic pain treatment includes medical and non-medical ways to relieve you from constant pain.
You may take over-the-counter pain relievers like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
If you're in excruciating pain, your doctor may suggest:
Your doctor may suggest complementary therapies (integrative medicine) to help you take control of your pain and feel better. You may have:
These include:
Talk to your pain management provider about whether these techniques are right for you.
If you have chronic pain, OT can help you:
PT uses exercises you can do at home to relieve severe pain, such as:
Your doctor may want you to do low-impact exercises. Regular movement helps prevent joints and muscles from getting stiff.
Based on your issue, your provider may suggest:
Surgery can help relieve chronic pain, but it isn't right for everyone. Talk to your doctor to see if surgery may help you.
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