The crossroads of pain
There has been much speculation about potential determinants that may increase the likelihood of progression of acute pain to chronic pain. Possible factors include genetics, demographics, past trauma, past health history, the nature of the injury or surgery (for instance, mastectomies carry risk of development of nerve pain), and others.
Still, there is no solid evidence to show this causation… yet. All that we know is that there is a pain crisis that can no longer be ignored.
National health agencies are taking an interest. For instance, the National Institute on Aging is looking at advancing pain science. The National Institute of Health’s HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, is a multi-year, multi-agency effort funding major investments into the science of pain.
One of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) programs is focused on investigating the biological characteristics underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain. The Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) is currently undertaking two longitudinal studies with patients who experience acute pain resulting from a surgical procedure. The goal: “develop a set of objective biomarkers that provide ‘signatures’ to predict if chronic pain is likely to develop or be resolved after acute pain, like an injury or after a surgery.”
The Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) is another NIH HEALInitiative looking at accelerating early-phase clinical trials of non-addictive treatments for acute and chronic pain. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are also engaging in the topics of acute and chronic pain. Earlier this year, the FDA released draft guidance on the development of non-opioid analgesics for acute pain, and CMS recently announced their intention to improve chronic pain care by paying physicians separately to care for Americans who are over 65 or disabled.
These initiatives are a promising step as we continue to navigate the murky landscape of effectively treating both acute and chronic pain, and reducing the likelihood that acute pain will transition to chronic.
Treatment options
As humans, our first inclination when experiencing pain is how to make it stop. We question the best approach to manage acute versus chronic pain: is it rest? When is it better to use heat versus cold? Are OTC’s appropriate or other prescription medications? When will the pain subside?
While there is commonality between pain management options for acute and chronic pain, there are also differences. Typically, treating acute pain focuses on the underlying cause and working toward interrupting the nociceptive, or sensory pain receptor, signals. Chronic pain, is best treated with a multidisciplinary approach that involves more than one therapeutic modality.
The most important thing is making sure your pain is being addressed and managed appropriately, while finding resources and support to help.
Looking forward this November
As we look at the intersection between acute and chronic pain, we hope to:
- Increase awareness of chronic pain as a disease.
- Spur greater research into the causes of chronic pain.
- Provide education about the different treatment options for acute and chronic pain.
- Address the need for collecting population health data about different pain conditions, patient characteristics, like gender, ethnicity, and geographic location, treatment modalities and their effectiveness for different types of pain, costs and more.
- Highlight the lived experiences of individuals who live with acute and chronic pain
It’s time to really get to know pain.
