Pain

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

  • QWhat lung disorders can cause chest pain?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Stefano Sdringola, MD - Houston, TX - Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease)
    A Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered on behalf of
    Lung disorders that can cause chest pain include:
    • Pulmonary embolism. This cause of chest pain occurs when a blood clot becomes lodged in a lung (pulmonary) artery, blocking blood flow to lung tissue.
    • Pleurisy. This is when the membrane that covers the lungs becomes inflamed. Pleurisy can cause chest pain that's made worse with inhaling or coughing.
    • Collapsed lung. A collapsed lung occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and the ribs. The chest pain associated with a collapsed lung typically begins suddenly and can last for hours.
    • Pulmonary hypertension. High blood pressure in the arteries carrying blood to the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) also can produce chest pain.
  • QWhat digestive disorders can cause chest pain?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Stefano Sdringola, MD - Houston, TX - Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease)
    A Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered on behalf of
    Digestive disorders that can cause chest pain include:
    • Heartburn. This painful, burning sensation behind the breastbone occurs when stomach acid washes up from the stomach into the esophagus, the tube that connects the throat to the stomach.
    • Swallowing disorders. Disorders of the esophagus can make swallowing difficult and even painful.
    • Gallbladder or pancreas problems. Gallstones or inflammation of the gallbladder or pancreas can cause abdominal pain that radiates to the chest.
  • QWhat are some heart-related causes of chest pain?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Stefano Sdringola, MD - Houston, TX - Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease)
    A Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered on behalf of
    Examples of heart-related causes of chest pain include:
    • Heart attack. A heart attack is a result of a blood clot that's blocking blood flow to the heart muscle.
    • Angina. Thick plaques can gradually build up on the inner walls of the arteries that carry blood to the heart. Angina is the pain caused when these plaques narrow the arteries and restrict the heart's blood supply, particularly during exertion.
    • Aortic dissection. This life-threatening condition involves the aorta, the main artery leading from the heart. If the inner layers of the aorta separate, blood will be forced between the layers and can cause it to rupture.
    • Pericarditis. This condition, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart, usually causes sharp pain that gets worse when the person breathes in or lies down.
  • QWhat is a pain management specialist?
    1 Answer
    A
    RealAge
    A answered
    A pain management specialist is a doctor who has completed training in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of different types of pain, including acute pain, chronic pain, pain due to injury or surgery, pain related to cancer or other diseases and pain without any obvious cause.

    Pain management specialists can treat your pain directly by prescribing medication and possibly performing pain-relieving procedures. They may also coordinate your rehabilitative care. In some cases, pain management specialists may oversee and direct an interactive, multidisciplinary team of experts who are skilled and trained to help people suffering from pain. These medical experts may include psychologists, nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, nutritionists and social workers. A person's loved ones, including family friends, may also be brought onto the interdisciplinary pain management "team" to help the person manage pain while living as normal a life as possible every day.
  • QWhat causes hip pain?
    2 Answers
    A
    Dr. Luis Rodriguez, MD - Coral Gables, FL - Sports Medicine
    A Sports Medicine, answered on behalf of
    A lot of things can go wrong with the hip. Some of the injuries that can be related to the muscles and the tendons around the hip are:
    • muscle strains
    • muscle tears
    • tendinitis
    • bursitis, commonly on the outside of the hip
    When someone comes to me with hip pain, I like to know a little bit more about what they do and the activities they enjoy. Hip pain can be related to a work or leisure activity.

    Some hip problems, like those in the tendons and muscles, can be due to repetitive motion, or overuse. If you have a history of arthritis in the hip, activities like walking or high-impact activities can aggravate symptoms. You might also have pain around the groin or in the buttock area. 
    See All 2 Answers
  • QWhat is radiculopathy?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Yevgeniy Khavkin, MD - Las Vegas, NV - Neurosurgery
    A Neurosurgery, answered on behalf of
    What Is Radiculopathy?
    Radiculopathy is a shooting pain in the arms or legs, says Yevgeniy Khavkin, MD, a neurosurgeon at Southern Hills Hospital. In this video, he shows how a bulging disc in the spine causes radiculopathy.
  • QHow can a weekly exfoliating foot facial help prevent foot pain?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Suzanne M. Levine, DPM - New York, NY - Podiatric Medicine
    A , Podiatric Medicine, answered
    Dr. Suzanne Levine - How can a weekly exfoliating foot facial help prevent foot pain?
    A weekly exfoliating foot facial can help prevent foot pain by reducing swelling, muscle spasms and soreness, and by moisturizing the skin and nails. Watch as podiatrist Suzanne Levine, DPM, explains the benefits and shares her exfoliant recipe. 
  • QWhat are the main causes of foot pain?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Suzanne M. Levine, DPM - New York, NY - Podiatric Medicine
    A , Podiatric Medicine, answered
    Dr. Suzanne Levine - What are the main causes of foot pain?
    The main causes of foot pain include gravity, weight gain, the aging process, genetics and even gender. In this video, podiatrist Suzanne Levine, DPM, explains the factors that cause foot pain, and why women tend to experience it more than men. 
  • QCan I feel real pain even if I don't have an injury?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. David A. Hanscom, MD - Seattle, WA - Spine Surgery
    A , Spine Surgery, answered
    Recent research has shown that the brain can create pain that is identical to the pain of a physical injury. Research has also shown that an emotional insult is processed in exactly the same way in the brain as a physical insult. We now know that stressful life events and our emotional reactions to them may cause pain that can be severe. Treating this type of pain with pain medications, injections or surgery is usually not effective, thus leaving the patient extremely frustrated and depressed.

    Neurological research demonstrates that the brain has the capacity of neuroplasticity (the ability to create new nerve pathways in response to life events). For example, when you learn to play the piano or swing a golf club, your brain cells are developing new pathways that are connected to your body. These pathways consist of thousands of nerve cells. The more a pathway is activated or practiced, the stronger it becomes.

    What most doctors do not fully understand is that pain can be caused by this type of learned pathway. Even when there’s no tissue damage in the body, such as a tumor, a fracture, or an infection, a learned pathway can cause real, physical pain.

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    Back in Control: A spine surgeon's roadmap out of chronic pain
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  • QWhen should I consider surgery for facial pain of trigeminal neuralgia?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Jeffrey A. Brown, MD - Great Neck, NY - Neurosurgery
    A , Neurosurgery, answered
    When anti-convulsant (seizure) medications that used to work to treat the facial pain of trigeminal neuralgia begin to cause intolerable side effects you should obtain an MRI scan of the brain to see the trigeminal nerve. Electrical pain on one side of the face can be caused by an artery or vein pulsating against that nerve in a sensitive zone as it enters the brainstem. There are surgical options to treat this “neuropathic” facial pain that can be explained by an expert neurosurgeon experienced in the treatment of facial pain.