Chronic Pain Syndrome

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What is Chronic Pain Syndrome?

Chronic pain syndrome encompasses any pain that persists longer than the reasonable expected healing time for the involved tissues. The duration of pain is often arbitrarily set at 3 months duration. In contrast to acute pain, which is a vital protective mechanism, chronic pain serves no physiological role.

It is not a symptom, but rather a disease state. Some conditions that lead to chronic pain syndrome include:

Low back pain (eg, lumbar radiculopathy, spinal stenosis, facet syndrome, myofascial pain)
Neck/Shoulder pain (eg, whiplash, cervical radiculopathy, fibromyalgia)
Headache (eg, migraine, cluster, tension type, cervicogenic)
Musculoskeletal pain (eg, soft tissue injury, myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis)
Neuropathic pain (eg, post-herpetic neuralgia, chronic regional pain syndrome I and II, phantom limb pain, diabetic neuropathy)
Chronic postoperative pain (eg, post-thoracotomy pain, neuroma formation, neuropraxia)

Who gets Chronic Pain Syndrome?

Chronic pain syndrome has been reported to effect up to 54% of the population at some stage.

Predisposing Factors

Chronic pain syndromes are more common in womens health than men health. People with depression or anxiety are also more likely to develop chronic pain syndromes. Some people who have chronic pain syndrome later develop anxiety or depression as a result of their illness.

Progression

Chronic pain syndromes often develop after an acute pain, such as an injury, but they may develop with no recognised preceding injury. Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts for longer than the expected time for recovery of injured tissues, nominally 3 months.

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