Chronic pain management: What you need to know

Nearly 21% of adults in the U.S. experience chronic pain. If you or someone you love is among them, there are a few key facts you need to know about chronic pain management.

Chronic pain lasts for at least three months, and it can continue for longer. Chronic pain can take many forms, including:

• Neuropathic pain: Also called nerve pain, this type of chronic pain occurs due to dysfunction with or damage to the nerves. Peripheral neuropathy, sciatica and trigeminal neuralgia are examples of conditions that can cause neuropathic pain.
• Musculoskeletal pain: This type of chronic pain originates in the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles or tendons due to conditions such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and tendonitis.
• Visceral pain: This type of pain stems from the organs. Some possible causes of visceral pain may include cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, menstrual cramps and stomach ulcers.
• Inflammatory pain: Inflammation is the root cause of this type of chronic pain. It often develops due to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

If you have chronic pain, the first step toward managing the issue is to see your healthcare provider. They can discuss your symptoms with you, perform an examination and order tests to help diagnose the cause of your pain. They can also start you on a treatment plan that may help reduce pain over time.

In some cases, healthcare providers may not be able to diagnose a specific cause of chronic pain. However, it’s still possible to manage symptoms through a variety of treatments.

People perceive chronic pain in different ways. It may feel like an aching, a dull throbbing or a burning sensation. Pain can also feel like it’s stabbing, stinging, squeezing or shooting. Describing the sensation as accurately as possible can give your healthcare provider clues about the potential cause.

Be sure to discuss any other symptoms you’re experiencing with your healthcare provider. People with chronic pain may also develop:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Additional physical symptoms related to the underlying cause of the pain

Making changes to your lifestyle and adopting healthy habits can often improve the success of treatment plans for chronic pain management. Some lifestyle changes your healthcare provider may recommend include:

• Exercising regularly
• Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet
• Maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight if you need to
• Managing stress
• Quitting smoking
• Drinking only in moderation or avoiding drinking altogether
• Maintaining a healthy, reliable support system, which is vital for emotional well-being. Dealing with chronic pain can impact one's day-to-day life significantly, and a strong support system is crucial.
• Practicing good sleep hygiene. Sleep quality and duration have a significant impact on pain. Specifically, sleep deprivation on a long-term basis can actually cause physical pain to arise in the body. Conversely, patients with chronic pain can experience more severe pain if they are not getting adequate sleep on a regular basis.

There are many things you can try to help manage chronic pain. Your healthcare provider will likely address underlying health conditions that may be causing your symptoms and recommend a treatment plan to help manage chronic pain. This may include:

• Medications: Depending on the type of pain and its cause, your healthcare provider may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), muscle relaxers, opioids, antidepressants or other medications.
• Physical therapy: If pain affects your ability to move, physical therapy may help you regain strength, flexibility and mobility.
• Occupational therapy: This type of therapy can help you improve your ability to perform everyday tasks while coping with chronic pain.
• Massage therapy: Regular massage may help reduce some types of chronic pain while also providing stress relief benefits.
• Medical devices: Devices like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units and spinal cord stimulators may ease some forms of pain by stimulating the nerves with mild electrical current.
• Medical procedures: Injections, such as corticosteroid shots and botulinum toxin (BOTOX), and surgical procedures may be helpful for managing some types of chronic pain.
• Biofeedback: Through biofeedback, you can learn techniques for responding to pain. This may help ease your symptoms.

For some people, more than one treatment may be necessary to manage chronic pain, and you may need to try several different types of treatments before you find one that works well for you. Be sure to follow up with your healthcare provider regularly so you can work together to monitor your progress and modify your treatment plan as needed.

Chronic pain can take a toll on your mental health, and depression and anxiety that arise due to pain may actually worsen symptoms. As a result, people living with chronic pain often benefit from psychotherapy. An experienced mental health professional can help you work through your thoughts and feelings and develop coping strategies for dealing with pain.

Updated December 2024.