2.3 Pain

1. Types of Pain

   • Acute Pain:

     • Caused by a specific, identifiable incident (e.g., stubbing a toe, muscle strain).

     • Warns of potential further damage.

     • Characteristics:

       • Short duration, sudden onset.

       • Identifiable cause and well-defined location.

       • Decreases in severity and frequency with healing.

       • May show objective signs (e.g., swelling, redness) and is sometimes accompanied by anxiety.

     • Easily identifiable and usually resolves during rehabilitation.

   • Subacute Pain:

     • Falls between acute and chronic pain.

     • Duration: 1–3 months.

   • Chronic Pain:

     • Long-lasting and often persists beyond healing.

     • Characteristics:

       • Gradual onset and difficult to identify the cause.

       • May or may not have a well-defined location.

       • Often accompanied by depression, fatigue, and feelings of exhaustion or uselessness.

       • Objective signs are usually absent.

   • Respondent Pain:

     • Reflexive response to a stimulus (e.g., tissue damage).

     • May evolve into operant pain if reinforced by environmental factors (e.g., attention, avoidance of work).

2. Key Challenges

   • Pain is not always proportional to the severity of the physical injury.

   • Chronic pain can significantly hinder return-to-work plans due to its persistence and psychological impact.

Multiple Choice Quiz

Questions

1. What is the main purpose of acute pain?
   a) To persist beyond the healing process.
   b) To warn the individual to stop actions causing damage.
   c) To create feelings of exhaustion and uselessness.
   d) To encourage chronic pain development.

2. Which of the following is a characteristic of chronic pain?
   a) Short duration and sudden onset.
   b) Well-defined cause and location.
   c) Often accompanied by depression and fatigue.
   d) Objective signs are usually present.

3. Subacute pain typically lasts for:
   a) Less than one month.
   b) 1–3 months.
   c) 4–6 months.
   d) More than one year.

4. Respondent pain:
   a) Is a learned response reinforced by environmental factors.
   b) Has a reflexive response to an antecedent stimulus like tissue damage.
   c) Always evolves into chronic pain.
   d) Lacks any identifiable cause.

5. A key barrier in developing a return-to-work plan for injured workers is:
   a) Lack of medical findings.
   b) The subjective experience of pain not matching objective injuries.
   c) Acute pain during rehabilitation.
   d) Limited availability of medical resources.

Answer Key

1. b) To warn the individual to stop actions causing damage.

2. c) Often accompanied by depression and fatigue.

3. b) 1–3 months.

4. b) Has a reflexive response to an antecedent stimulus like tissue damage.

5. b) The subjective experience of pain not matching objective injuries.