Chronic Pain

• The pain is prolonged, lasting longer than the expected healing time.
• Central and neuropathic are two types of chronic pain.
• Central pain results from a lesion in the central nervous system such as an infraction, hemorrhage, tumors, traumatic injury, or abscess.
• Neuropathic pain results from an injury to the peripheral nerves.
• There is an increase difficulty in managing chronic pain as compared to acute pain.
• There is a decrease in autonomic nervous system responses such as nausea, vomiting, or swelling.
• The body's has adapted to pain impulses, therefore the fight-or-flight reaction does not occur.

(Helms & Barone, 2008)