Pain

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

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. It may come and go, or it may be constant. You may feel pain in one area of your body, such as your back, abdomen, chest, pelvis, or you may feel pain all over.

Pain can be helpful in diagnosing a problem. If you never felt pain, you might seriously hurt yourself without knowing it, or you might not realize you have a medical problem that needs treatment.

There are two types of pain: acute and chronic. Acute pain usually comes on suddenly, because of a disease, injury, or inflammation. It can often be diagnosed and treated. It usually goes away, though sometimes it can turn into chronic pain. Chronic pain lasts for a long time, and can cause severe problems.

Pain is not always curable, but there are many ways to treat it. Treatment depends on the cause and type of pain. 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 Stroke

Start Here

• Overview of Pain (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Pain (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Pain Management (American Society of Anesthesiologists)

Treatments and Therapies

• Managing Pain: Moving Beyond Opioids (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Non-Drug Pain Management: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Nonopioid Therapies for Pain Management (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Pain Relievers: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Pain Management: Lifestyle & Management (American Geriatrics Society)

Related Issues

• Pain and Depression: Is There a Link? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Pain Condition Resources (NIH Pain Consortium)
• Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Using Alcohol to Relieve Your Pain: What Are the Risks? (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Congenital insensitivity to pain: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Paroxysmal extreme pain disorder: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Feeling pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Trouble With Touch? Feeling Your World (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pain (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pain Management (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pain Perception (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Pain perception while listening to thrash heavy metal vs relaxing music...
• Article: Cryospray reduces pain during venous cannulation in elective surgery patients: a...
• Article: Cognition, Depression, Pain, and Exercise Motives as Predictors of Longitudinal Profiles...
• Pain -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician (American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish
• NIH Pain Consortium

Children

• Why Do I Have Pain? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

• Eldercare at Home: Pain Management (AGS Health in Aging Foundation)
• Pain: You Can Get Help (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Aches and pains during pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Palliative care - managing pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish