Even though pain is a common occurrence everyone is familiar with, it is still difficult to precisely define. For each of us, pain has its own meaning and manifestation, directly related to our own personal lives and experiences. Complex and subjective, pain is recognized and tolerated by each of us in our own individual ways. Awareness of pain can be influenced by a variety of internal and external factors, and sensitivity and reaction to pain varies with each person.

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage." The fact remains that pain is an alarm signal telling us that something in the body is wrong.

Pain is one of the most common health complaints among people today. There are many different types of pain: A dull ache, a sharp stab, a recurring throb, a sudden sting, a constant burning, and many more. Pain may be caused by any number of ailments, including disease, injuries, stress and others. But a few facts are common when discussing any type of pain or any of pain’s causes:

• Pain is real.
  
• Pain has a cause.
• Pain can impair your ability to perform your everyday activities.
  
• Pain is treatable.
  
• Pain can be manageable.

There are many health problems that can cause intense pain. This pain may be acute (serious, but lasting for a short time) or chronic. Why is chronic pain uniquely challenging? Acute pain, such as that caused by a broken bone, an ear infection or a kidney stone, can be excruciating. Yet acute pain can often be easily managed with medications, ice application, elevation and rest. Once the injury or health problem that caused the acute pain has healed, the pain usually is gone. But chronic pain, such as that caused by arthritis, is a daily occurrence. The pain may subside at times, and get suddenly worse at other times (an experience known as a flare), but it is always present in the person’s life.

*Information in this section has been excerpted from The Arthritis Foundation’s Guide to Pain Management, by Susan Bernstein, copyright ©2003, Arthritis Foundation and The Arthritis Foundation’s Guide to Good Living with Osteoarthritis, copyright ©2000, Arthritis Foundation. To learn more about these books and for other pain management resources, call (800) 283-7800.