Overview of Pain

Injuries, such as cuts, burns, fractures, sprains, and bruises, activate pain receptors around the injury. The pain receptors are on the ends of long nerve fibers. These fibers carry pain signals to your spinal cord. Other nerves in your spinal cord then carry the pain signals to your brain. Only when your brain processes the pain signals do you actually feel pain.

Sometimes your nerves send pain signals even when you haven't been hurt or injured. This can happen when your nerves have been damaged by a disease such as diabetes (called diabetic neuropathy Nerve damage in diabetes People with diabetes mellitus have many serious long-term complications that affect many areas of the body, particularly the blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys. (See also Diabetes Mellitus... read more ), or when your nerves were crushed or cut by an injury. Pain caused by nerve damage is called neuropathic pain Neuropathic Pain "Neuro-" refers to the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Neuropathic pain is pain that comes from damage or problems in your nerves, spinal cord, or brain. Neuropathic pain is usually caused by... read more .

Referred pain is when pain from one part of your body is felt in a different part. For example, pain from a heart attack is usually felt in your chest, because that's where your heart is. But sometimes a heart attack causes pain in your neck or jaw, because pain signals from those areas travel along nerves that are near the nerves from your heart.

Anxiety, depression, or sleep problems can make pain more unpleasant than it would normally be.

Doctors first treat the problem that's causing your pain. For instance, if you have a broken bone, they'll set it and put on a cast.

They also may give you medicine to stop the pain. Different types of medicine work on different parts of the pain pathway:

For neuropathic pain, doctors sometimes have you take an antidepressant Drug therapy for depression A short discussion of prolonged grief disorder. Depression is a feeling of sadness and/or a decreased interest or pleasure in activities that becomes a disorder when it is intense enough to... read more or antiseizure drug Antiseizure drugs In seizure disorders, the brain's electrical activity is periodically disturbed, resulting in some degree of temporary brain dysfunction. Many people have unusual sensations just before a seizure... read more . These medicines affect nerve signals in a way that relieves pain even if you're not depressed or don't have seizures.

Opioids are the strongest pain medicines. They’re called opioids because they first came from the opium poppy. Some opioids still come from plants, but many are made in a lab. There are many different opioids, including morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, and codeine.

Opioids are good for relieving really bad pain, such as from a burn, broken bone, or cancer. But opioids can have serious side effects so doctors try not to use them for less severe problems.

NSAIDs are pain medicines such as aspirin and ibuprofen. They are not opioids. They relieve pain and block inflammation, such as in joints inflamed from arthritis. Although they aren't as strong as opioids, they're very effective.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol®) is a very common pain medicine. It's not an opioid and is about as effective as NSAIDs, but doesn't irritate your stomach or increase risk of bleeding. However, too much acetaminophen can damage your liver.