Pain is often times thought of as a symptom of a disease, such as a tumor or an infection - but sometimes pain is the disease (Moseley, 2011). There are two major types of pain, one being acute pain and the other is known as chronic pain. Both types of pain cause a prodigious cost to the individual experiencing it. For example, pain causes a cost in terms of money such as paying for rehabilitation or losing money due to lost worker productivity, as well the fact that it can play an emotional toll on the individual (AAPM, n.d.). Although they share this characteristic, each type of pain has a different internal cause and effect on the body.
Acute pain is a standard sensation that is provoked in the nervous system which alerts the individual to a potential injury (AAPM, n.d.). This type of pain notifies the individual that they need to take action to care
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Once the care occurs, acute pain typically subsides. Chronic pain, on the other hand, continues to exist over long periods of time. The standard sensation that occurs in acute pain continues to in the nervous system for an extended duration of time.
Research reports that globally, over 1.5 billion people suffer from chronic pain. Familiar chronic pain complaints consist of headaches, lower back pain, pain pertaining to cancer, pain caused by arthritis, and neurogenic pain (AAPM, n.d.). One type of chronic pain I have experienced, and continue to experience is chronic migraines. I was diagnosed with chronic migraines about two years ago. Of course, one of the first options my doctor gave me to help reduce the symptoms was medication. However, I am particularly against the idea of taking