About 40 percent of women have atypical symptoms of chest pain. In this video, Tseday Sirak, MD, from StoneSprings Hospital Center, walks us through where atypical chest pain is usually felt for women.
Pain
Pain is your body telling you that you have hurt it. This is a good thing, important when you are injured. It can also help diagnose problems with your body. Sometimes pain continues long after it's necessary. Amputees report phantom pain in the legs or arms they no longer have.
There are different kinds of pain, and describing the type is useful in diagnosis: recurring, constant, steady, knife-like, radiating, sharp, dull. Medicines that dull pain are analgesics. Those that kill all feeling are anesthetics.
Recently Answered
-
2 AnswersA
Dr. Tseday E. Sirak, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered on behalf of StoneSprings Hospital CenterSee All 2 Answers
-
1 AnswerA
Doctors like John Woodward, MD, with Orthopaedic Physicians of Colorado, look closely at the relationship of knee pain and trauma in order to seek the best course of treatment and discover the underlying problem.
-
4 AnswersA
Scripps Health answeredSee All 4 AnswersShoulder pain often originates in the rotator cuff, the group of muscles and tendons that cover the shoulder joint. These tendons are already vulnerable to injury from normal activities. Injuries can also be caused by trauma or athletic activities.
In severe cases, partial or complete tendon tears can cause pain and weakness in the joint.
A dislocated shoulder is both painful and disconcerting, as people may be bothered by the sense of instability, as the ball of the shoulder slips out of the socket. Pain intensifies if the cartilage ring (labrum) around the socket tears.
Occasionally, ligaments may tighten, causing decreased range of motion. People may be unaware this is happening until they’re unable to raise their arm and their shoulder becomes frozen and painful. This is more common in people with diabetes or other endocrine disorders.
Arthritis can also cause shoulder pain. As the smooth surfaces of the ball and socket wear out, the cartilage becomes rough or may be absent altogether. The resulting pain can be disabling
Pinpointing the precise source of shoulder pain is important. Pain may be from a shoulder problem or stem from another issue, such as nerve irritation in the neck. This is called referred pain. -
1 AnswerA
Eye pain and headaches can sometimes be related, especially if you require glasses (distance or near), but are not properly corrected, or if you have a more serious eye condition like increased eye pressure. Other times, headaches may be more musculoskeletal in nature and involve the muscles around the eye, but the eyeball itself is not involved in the process. A good eye exam may help tease out the details of your discomfort more clearly. -
2 AnswersA
Scripps Health answeredSee All 2 AnswersShoulder pain may come and go, depending on the time of day or type of activity. Some people may feel fine when their arm is resting at their side. However, as soon as they raise their elbow, they experience pain.
Shoulder pain that occurs primarily at night is of particular concern because it interferes with sleep and may be a symptom of larger health problems. If shoulder pain is not improving, or if the shoulder is unstable, stiff or frozen, see your physician. -
1 AnswerA
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredNociceptors, the nerve endings that detect pain, evolved because they transmit messages about tissue damage. On the most basic level, they cause organisms to move away from stimuli associated with harm. Nociceptors are thus densest in areas prone to injury, like fingers and toes. Visceral pain, pain that originates in the internal organs, is consequently much more difficult to pinpoint.
-
1 AnswerA
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered
Doctors encounter many difficulties in determining the severity of acute pain when patients cannot communicate to them. They may wish to know, for example, how much pain medication to administer. Sometimes this problem can be addressed by using a different scale: for example, a series of faces from smiling to frowning, rather than a straight line with numbers. Otherwise, doctors will assess likely severity of pain on the basis of the type of injury in question.
-
2 AnswersA
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredSee All 2 Answers
Pain is a highly subjective phenomenon and not necessarily linear. However, doctors often need to get a general sense of how bad someone's pain really is. The classic method for evaluating pain is just to ask the patient to rank it on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst ever). Doctors can use a visual scale as well, where patients perform a similar ranking by making a mark on a 10cm line.
-
1 AnswerA
RealAge answeredTreating pain, such as headaches, back ailments and arthritis, is big business in the United States. But if you’re living with chronic pain, you may feel alone in your struggle. The good news is that millions of Americans can relate -- and new treatments are being developed all the time. Unfortunately, pain is a seriously undertreated problem. About 75% of sufferers do not receive adequate treatment for effective pain management.
Untreated or poorly executed pain management plans put people at risk for depression, irritability, fatigue and an overall diminished quality of life. About 33% of Americans in pain experience sleep loss, which may affect their ability to work, take care of their families, socialize, exercise and participate in activities they enjoy. Treating pain is an important step in regaining control over quality of life. -
2 AnswersA
Dr. Harris H. McIlwain, MD , Rheumatology, answeredSee All 2 AnswersStress is a response of the body to any demand. It is a biological phenomenon that affects the central and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the endocrine and immune systems. The body’s major stress hormones trigger the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, influencing an increased pain response.
Stress is linked with changes in our body at a cellular level; changes we don’t even feel or see occurring daily until we suddenly experience pain or illness.