What Are the Top Causes of Chronic Pain?

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How much is chronic pain affecting your life? People with chronic pain often find that it affects everything they do: home activities, hobbies, work, family, and more.

Specific ailments and injuries can cause acute pain, but this pain typically goes away when you heal from the injury or illness. On the other hand, chronic pain stays around for months or even years, causing ongoing discomfort that can be hard to live with.

The Prevalence of Chronic Pain in the United States

It’s estimated that nearly 50 million Americans are living with chronic pain. Unfortunately, the symptoms are complex and challenging to treat, leaving many people feeling like they are unable to find relief from their pain.

Doctors often prescribe prescription-strength pain medications. But even when these medications are paired with comprehensive treatment, only an estimated 58% of patients experience the improvements they desire.

If you are one of the millions of people looking for answers to address chronic pain, then it’s time to work with a pain specialist who can help you get to the root of the issue – and implement a treatment plan that actually works.

Causes of Pain: Acute and Chronic

There are obvious reasons for certain types of pain. For example, if you are in an accident, the injured areas will be in pain during your recovery. Pain is also common with certain ailments and illnesses.

On the other hand, chronic pain sticks around for a while. When the pain persists for over a few months, it is categorized as chronic. Sometimes, the pain can be traced to specific injuries or health concerns, such as old injuries, underlying tissue damage, or surgeries. But there are also situations where you can’t pinpoint a particular cause for the pain you are experiencing.

Most Common Causes of Chronic Pain

Our pain management specialists can help with many types of chronic pain. We’ve been focused on pain management for years and often see patients with the most common causes of chronic pain.

Low Back Pain

Many adults will experience low back pain at least once in their life. An injury could cause this pain in the back or genetic predispositions that progress over time.

Common causes of low back pain include bulging or slipped discs, spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal canal that compresses the nerves), fractures, soft tissue damage, or structural deformities.

Joint Pain

Do you feel the pain increase when you move certain joints in your body? Sometimes this type of pain is associated with a specific joint, such as a knee that you injured years ago. Other times, joint pain happens because of an autoimmune response or another ailment, causing pain in multiple joints.

Typically, joint pain is caused by infection, injury, health issues, or even old age. Many adults find that joint pain increases with age.

Common types of joint pain include rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, bursitis, repetitive motion injuries, or tendonitis.

Nerve Pain

An estimated 10% of Americans are affected by chronic nerve pain. Usually, the pain occurs because nerves are damaged, compressed, or stripped of their protective coating (known as the myelin sheath).

These are some of the most common types of nerve pain.

  • Diabetic Neuropathy: When blood sugar issues affect the nerves and cause symptoms, usually in the legs and feet.
  • Repetitive Motion: When the same movement is repeated over and over again, causing damage to the nerves. One example is carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists
  • Sciatica: This type of nerve pain occurs in the low back and shoots down the leg.
  • Postherpetic Neuralgia: Chronic nerve pain that can develop after an outbreak of shingles.

Migraines or Headaches

When a headache hits, it can take you out of commission and make it impossible to get through the day. A migraine or severe headache often puts a person in bed while they wait for the symptoms to subside.

There are different types of headaches, and your medical provider will want to identify the type to determine the optimal treatment plan.

  • Cluster Headaches: Caused by an enlargement in the blood vessels that are located in the skull
  • Migraines: Typically caused by hormonal irregularities or nervous system triggers
  • Eye Strain Headaches: Headaches associated with eye strain often happen when the eye muscles are overworked because you are looking at a screen or not giving your eyes a chance to rest
  • Tension Headaches: Poor sleep, fatigue, or stress can increase the tension in the neck and head, resulting in pain that lingers as long as the tension is present

How Is Chronic Pain Affecting Your Life?

Living with chronic pain might feel like an unchangeable part of life, especially if you have been unsuccessful in finding a treatment that works. If you are visited by multiple doctors and are still experiencing chronic pain, you might feel hopeless about finding relief.

The truth is that chronic pain is one of the costliest health issues in the United States. Not only do you need to pay for never-ending medical bills and medications, but many people experience a loss of income because working is challenging when you are living with chronic pain.

When the pain reaches a point where it is so severe that it interferes with normal activities and your life’s work, then it can turn into a terrible cycle. Patients start feeling preoccupied with the pain and experience depression. Then, depression can contribute to insomnia which might contribute to the symptoms getting worse.

Too often, patients get caught in the never-ending need for more medications, leading to dependency or addiction. Sometimes, there are ongoing surgeries in an attempt to correct the issues that are causing pain.

If your life is affected by chronic pain, it’s important to seek help from an experienced professional. Rest assured, knowing that pain relief specialists work with patients who have similar symptoms and treatments are available to help you find relief.

Call a Pain Specialist for a Personalized Treatment Plan

Every patient is different, which is why our team takes a personalized approach to every diagnosis and treatment plan. If you are living with chronic pain, we invite you to reach out as soon as possible to discuss possible treatments.

Not only do we address the immediate pain, but our goal is to help you find long-term relief whenever possible.

For more information about treatments and management for chronic pain, contact our professional team at Kentuckiana Pain Specialists. We help each patient through a comprehensive pain management approach, including alternative treatment options that you can’t access through general doctors.

Kentuckiana Pain Specialists is located in Louisville, Kentucky area. You are invited to call our office to book an appointment: (502) 995-4004.