- Acute pain: Acute pain is pain that lasts less than three months or pain that is directly related to tissue damage, such as with a burn or cut. Labor pains are also considered to be an acute pain. Influences that change acute pain into chronic pain include such things as the ongoing pain signal input to the nervous system even without tissue damage, lack of exercise, an individual's thoughts about the pain, as well as emotional states such as depression and anxiety.
- Chronic pain: The cause of chronic pain can sometimes be difficult to find. Long-term illness or disease, ongoing conditions, and injuries are the most common causes for chronic pain. These causes can damage the central or peripheral nervous system (neuropathic pain) and vascular (blood vessel) conditions. Long-term illnesses that may result in chronic pain include cancer, degenerative disease (such as osteoarthritis or osteoporosis), fibromyalgia, infections, dental problems, migraine headaches, inflammatory disease (such as rheumatoid arthritis), and multiple sclerosis (a degenerative neuromuscular disorder). Cancer patients often experience chronic pain caused by tumors that infiltrate and compress organs or bones as well as pain caused by treatment, such as radiation and cancer chemotherapy. Cancer treatments may also cause edema (tissue swelling), which may put pressure on sensitive nerves, causing pain. Pain from acute injuries, such as sprains and muscle strain, along with under- and overuse injuries, such as with back pain and heel pain, may also become chronic due to improper healing.
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