Is My Back Pain Normal or Chronic?

Is My Back Pain Normal or Chronic?

This content was medically reviewed by Baher S. Yanni, MD, on October 27th, 2017.

Our bodies communicate with us in a lot of ways. Hunger, itching, tastes, sounds … the list goes on. However, the way our bodies shout at us is usually pain. Even if you have a high pain tolerance, pain is difficult to ignore. It’s supposed to be that way. Pain is the main method our bodies have for telling us that something is wrong, and if your body is trying to let you know something is up, it’s a good idea to listen.

Bodily issues rarely stay at one level; instead, they get worse. That is why it is so important to listen to your body. However, chronic and acute pain are two different types of pain everyone experiences and depending on which kind of pain you’re experiencing, you’ll want to take a different action. At the Spine INA, we have a lot of experience with many different types of sources of pain, and we’ve learned how to recognize them so we can provide the most effective pain management services. In today’s blog, we want to share a little of what we know by discussing chronic pain and acute pain.

Acute Pain vs. Chronic Pain

• You may recognize the term “acute” from your geometry classes in school. It always referred to an angle that was less than 90 degrees, an angle that looked narrow and sharp. In a way, the sharpness of that angle on your geometry homework applies to the pain you might feel. Acute pain is just that: sharp. It is usually fresh and very uncomfortable. People define it on a range of one to 10, and we can safely say that a lot of people do this because acute pain is the most common type of pain people experience. However, if the acute pain refuses to fade away, it becomes chronic pain.

• To sum up acute pain, it is a normal signal from your body that you have an injury. It shows up when you burn yourself, scrape your knee, hit your head, or break a bone. It is obvious, clear, and usually fades away as the injury heals. Chronic pain is different.
• If your pain remains steady for three to six months, it moves out of the acute pain zone and enters the chronic pain one. Chronic pain can come from an injury that heals but doesn’t stop hurting or aching. It can also come from diseases like diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and cancer. While some people register chronic pain and give up, it is actually extremely important to do whatever you can do to defeat the pain.

Where Does Chronic Pain Commonly Show Up? 

Though it is possible for chronic pain to make itself at home pretty much anywhere in the body, the back is more susceptible than the rest of the body. If you’re reading this and agreeing because you experience pain every day, it’s time to contact us. Like we said, pain doesn’t usually just settle and stay; it gets worse. Just because the pain is manageable now doesn’t mean it will be in five years. There are many minimally invasive treatments we can use to end the pain and help you step forward pain-free. Contact our expert pain management team in New Jersey today!