Pain The Basics of Pain

When the Pain Just Won't Go Away

Summary & Participants

Chronic pain often brings other problems with it.

Medically Reviewed On: August 07, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Pain is never normal, and it’s often a sign of something going on your body.

Nathan Goldstein, MD, Chronic Pain Expert: And we’re not talking about daily aches and pains that don’t linger for long

Nathan Goldstein, MD, Chronic Pain Expert: We’re really talking about chronic pain, we’re talking about severe pain that limits function to a certain extent and goes on for an extended period of time, and that is never normal, and certainly not a part of normal aging.

Ida Mae Landrum, Chronic Pain Patient: I’ve had back pain for many, many years. It’s just part of my daily routine to have pain and not even be fully aware of it. I just choose to keep moving instead of dwelling on pain.

ANNOUNCER: But how long do you have to hurt before it’s considered chronic?

Nathan Goldstein, MD, Chronic Pain Expert: Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts three months or more in duration. Chronic pain can hit you anywhere in your body, and the symptoms can range from just pain itself to things like numbness, tingling, a dull ache, a sharp, stabbing pain. The symptoms can be very different, depending on both the patient and the cause of the pain.

ANNOUNCER: So before your daily aches and pains stretch on for months, talk to your doctor.

Nathan Goldstein, MD, Chronic Pain Expert: The earlier you start the pain medications, the, actually, easier it can be to treat the pain. And if you get to a point where the pain is so bad, it can actually be more difficult to treat the pain later on. We always have medications to treat pain, so we really encourage people to both tell their doctors about it and really come forward early to talk to people about it.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily!