Pain is a major reason for consultation, disability and absenteeism in people and is estimated to reach about 40% of the population regardless of age. And if until a few years ago, as a symptom, it deserved little attention from the medical community, today it is considered an important public health problem. However, there are still a vast number of people suffering in silence. Most are elderly, but also children or people with cognitive impairment. The chronic pain affects more people and has a more significant impact than diabetes, heart disease or cancer. To provide treatment for these syndromes, American home health care services are playing great role.
The International Association for the Study of Pain defined the year 2019 as the “year of combating pain in vulnerable populations.” In this sense, I begin by asking what is Pain? And what distinguishes acute pain from chronic pain?
According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Health care services, pain is “an unpleasant multidimensional experience, involving not only a sensory component, but also an emotional component, and associated with a concrete or potential tissue injury, or is described as a function of this lesion.”
Acute pain is one that is well established in time, in response to a known and self-limiting stimulus in its duration. Its main functions are the signaling of an illness and protection of the integrity of the individual. Chronic pain is a time-swept illness that is accompanied by a set of physical, psychological and behavioral manifestations, impacting on all spheres of life of those who suffer from it.
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What are the main causes of pain?
In the general population, low back pain, with or without irradiation to the lower limbs, is the main cause of pain, followed by neck pain (neck pain). Degenerative osteoarticular diseases (either at the spine or at the level of the joints) are also important causes of pain.
How is your diagnosis made? How can pain be quantified, given that many cannot understand pain?
Pain is an individual and subjective experience that only itself can quantify and qualify. Through pain intensity scales and multidimensional pain impact scales, we can assess the various components of pain, which are essential for patient follow-up and assessment of therapy.
Can pain be prevented? What care do you have?
Pain can be prevented, especially musculoskeletal pain, through the adoption of healthy living habits, such as regular practice of physical exercise, use of appropriate postures and control of excess weight.