Sign or Symptom
chronic pain
chron·ic pain [ kron-ik peyn ]
Subclass of:
Pain
Definitions related to chronic pain:
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A longstanding unpleasant sensation.NICHD Pediatric TerminologyU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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Aching sensation that persists for more than a few months. It may or may not be associated with trauma or disease, and may persist after the initial injury has healed. Its localization, character, and timing are more vague than with acute pain.NLM Medical Subject HeadingsU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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Ongoing or recurrent pain that persists beyond that which is expected following acute injury, usually 3 months or more.NCI ThesaurusU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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Pain is a signal in your nervous system that something may be wrong. It is an unpleasant feeling, such as a prick, tingle, sting, burn, or ache. Pain may be sharp or dull. You may feel pain in one area of your body, or all over. There are two types: acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain lets you know that you may be injured or a have problem you need to take care of. Chronic pain is different. The pain may last for weeks, months, or even years. The original cause may have been an injury or infection. There may be an ongoing cause of pain, such as arthritis or cancer. In some cases there is no clear cause. Environmental and psychological factors can make chronic pain worse. Many older adults have chronic pain. Women also report having more chronic pain than men, and they are at a greater risk for many pain conditions. Some people have two or more chronic pain conditions. Chronic pain is not always curable, but treatments can help. There are drug treatments, including pain relievers. There are also non-drug treatments, such as acupuncture, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery. NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeMedlinePlusU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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Pain that can range from mild to severe, and persists or progresses over a long period of time.NCI Dictionary of Cancer TermsU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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Pain that persists after an injury has healed or a disease is over.Harvard Dictionary of Health TermsHarvard Medical Publishing, 2011
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Pain which has persisted over a long period of time; also use NTs for specific types of pain if appropriate.CRISP ThesaurusNational Institutes of Health, 2006
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Persistent pain, usually defined as pain that has lasted longer than 3 to 6 months.Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2021
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Chronic pain is pain that persists or recurs for > 3 months, persists > 1 month after resolution of an acute tissue injury, or accompanies a nonhealing lesion. Causes include chronic disorders (eg, cancer, arthritis, diabetes), injuries (eg, herniated disk, torn ligament), and many primary pain disorders (eg, neuropathic pain,...Merck & Co., Inc., 2020
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