What is chronic pain and how does it affect daily living?

Pain that lasts a long time or that extends beyond the expected healing period.Anyone who has or is experiencing chronic pain will tell you that it is not just pain that extends beyond the healing period.  Chronic pain is pain that is always present, but the spikes come and go based on certain factors such as movement; non-movement; certain types of foods; different types of treatments; needs; and expectations.  Someone with chronic pain may not be in agonizing pain 24/7, but they might as well be.  It is like a storm approaching every day of your life.  It affects daily routines.  It affects sleep.  It affects hygiene.  It affects eating.  It affects your very existence.  Chronic pain is debilitating.  Often, the only thing a person with chronic pain can do is build themselves up to withstand the pain and keep going; which, at times can be nearly impossible.

You must first see life from their perspective.  This is not easy to do since most people forget about pain once the suffering has stopped due to healing, etc.  However, I will try to create an atmosphere where you might get the idea; especially if you have a family member or close friend who suffers from some type of chronic pain.

“I wake in the morning and have to force my body to move from the position I was lying in because the muscles and tendons are locked in place.  An audible snap is heard and pain races from my legs to my neck causing me to gasp in agony for a moment before it settles into the steady beat of pain to which I am accustomed.  I rise from my bed and gingerly place my feet on the floor (will they be painful today, or just tender?).  My feet touch the floor and I wince from the pain of the touch before forcing myself to rise and stand beside my bed.  I can no longer make my own bed because I can’t bend over to pull the covers to their respective spots.  I must rely on others to do this task for me. 

“I wish to get dressed before breakfast, but I can’t bend and twist to put my clothes on me and so I need someone else to do it for me.  By now my arms, legs, and hands ache like they are on fire and I have pins and needles racing through my feet.  My neck is stiff and agony shoots through my spine every time I turn to look at something or someone.  I sit, waiting for someone to help me get dressed and contemplate what I may be able to do today.  As I sit a light rain begins to fall and I absently watch it through my window.  It will be a particularly bad day today because the rain will aggravate my arthritis, adding to the pain I am already experiencing.  Today will be a useless day for me.  I will not be able to do anything other than sit and lie down, both of which I will not be able to do without pain.  It will be another day of burden for my loved-ones.  As I watch the rain tap lightly on the window pane, tears fall down my cheeks and drip on my hands where they lay upon my lap.  The day has only just begun…..”

There are other treatments out there for sufferers of chronic pain.  Each one offers temporary relief and a chance for some freedom; however, the freedom is never long lived and the pain, having been aggravated by movement, etc. is usually worse when it finally comes to light.  These treatments are also expensive, difficult, time consuming, painful in their own ways, and have several side effects.  Even physical therapy can help in some ways, but, again, the movement usually brings on the pain and causes the person to have to lie still for several hours with ice, heat, meds, etc. until the pain is relieved enough to resume movement.

Because it causes the person to realize that they will never face another pain-free day.  The only thing a person with chronic pain has to look forward to is more pain.  The debilitation of the pain removes all chances of the person leading a normal, healthy, happy life.  Chronic pain gives the person the feeling that they are useless (because others must help them to do their daily tasks), worthless (because someone must run errands, care for the children and pets, change the bedding, etc.), and a complete burden to loved ones.  Someone with chronic pain can’t think clearly at times because the pain blocks out all other thoughts.  They can’t remember things due to the pain.  They can’t go out to parties or shopping.  Often they can’t even dress themselves. 

Chronic pain is especially debilitating to someone who is otherwise healthy because their body can do things, but the pain stops them from accomplishing anything.  They usually gain weight from in-activity causing further health issues.  They are extremely depressed and often contemplate suicide as a means of escaping their pain.  Not because they want to die, but because they need the pain to stop so they can live a normal life again.

• Some of them are chemical--such as Fibromyalgia which is a disorder of the central nervous system caused by neurobiological abnormalities.
• Some of them are physical--such as from surgery or an injury of some type.
• Some of them are caused by specific diseases--such as MS which is an inflammation of the fatty myelin sheaths around the spinal cord and brain.
• Some are caused by birth defects--such as a genetic brain tumor which grows slowly from birth putting pressure on areas of the brain.
• There are even some caused by outside forces--such as migraines which may be caused by changes in barometric pressure.