Pain relief

Chronic or persistent pain is pain that carries on for longer than 12 weeks despite medication or treatment.

Most people get back to normal after pain following an injury or operation. But sometimes the pain carries on for longer or comes on without any history of an injury or operation.

Chronic pain can also affect people living with:

diabetes
arthritis
fibromyalgia
irritable bowel
back pain

What is pain?

The brain and the nerves inside the spine (the spinal nerves) make up the central nervous system. The spinal nerves carry messages from the body to the brain including signals that tell the brain there’s pain somewhere.

The brain acts like a control centre working out how serious the source of the problem is and what strength the pain should be. Sometimes the brain’s interpretation of these signals isn’t always accurate.

We expect pain to settle down with time but sometimes the brain continues to send out pain signals. These signals can be hard to stop, are often intense and at times seem to come on for no obvious reason. This fact isn’t always easy to understand and sometimes people feel that they’re being told the pain is in their ‘head’ and ‘not real’.

Dealing with stress and depression

When the body feels under threat it produces stress hormones that make us feel anxious and tense. The body sees pain as a threat and when it’s persistent or chronic, it can make us feel unwell.

Relaxation

Finding a way to relax can help to reduce pain. Anything which makes you feel good, you enjoy or gives you pleasure is a form of relaxation.

Hobbies and activities may have taken a backseat due to your pain, but it’s worth thinking about how to get back to doing things you enjoy. Anything that helps you to focus on things other than your pain is a good form of self-management.

Depression

Effective pain management tackles all aspects of your life affected by chronic pain – including your mental wellbeing.

Painkillers

Painkillers can help to reduce your pain and keep you moving. In some cases they won’t be effective at treating your pain and can cause side effects.

If you’re already taking medication or have other health problems, it’s important to check with your pharmacist before taking any non-prescription painkillers.