Acute pain is oftentimes the result of direct trauma to an area, but in most cases the injury can eventually resolve with the help of active treatment. However, for a small percentage of people, their acute pain turns into a chronic condition, and this can make it much harder for pain to eventually subside. But why does acute pain turn into a chronic condition, and what can you do to prevent this from happening? We answer those questions and more in today’s blog.

Acute Pain Turns Chronic

If you’re not careful, an acute injury can turn into chronic pain. Here’s a look at some of the more common reasons why acute pain eventually becomes a chronic condition.

Left Untreated – The most common reason that an acute injury turns into chronic pain is because you don’t actively treat the underlying issue. A lot of people just try to grit their teeth and push through any discomfort caused by an acute injury, but that can lead to additional stress on an area and prolonged pain. For example, if you sprain your ankle, you’ll make the best recovery with a little bit of rest, physical therapy and a slow reintroduction to physical activities. If you try to keep playing sports or working manual labor on an injured ankles, those damaged ankle ligaments may never truly heal, leading to chronic instability or similar long-term issues. Don’t leave a problem, no matter how small, untreated.

Treating The Wrong Underlying Condition – An acute injury can also lead to a chronic condition if you end up treating the wrong underlying issue. If you think you’re dealing with one injury with a specific treatment regimen, but you are actually dealing with something else that is best treated by a different set of remedies, the underlying issue may never be corrected, leading to long-term discomfort and chronic pain. This speaks to the importance of syncing up with a specialist to ensure you receive an accurate diagnosis.

Nerve Damage – If certain nerves are damaged, that can throw off off how sensory signals are sent and interpreted in the brain. You may no longer be in true physical pain, but a damaged nervous pathway could be relaying signals that the brain interprets as pain, leading to chronic discomfort. Chronic pain can be just as much psychological as it is physical.

Psychological Factors Associated With A Physical Injury – As we noted above, psychological factors can play a role in your expression and interpretation of pain signals, and sometimes our emotions can be thrown into flux following an acute injury. For example, if you were involved in a severe car accident, you may be dealing with more emotions like fear, anxiety or stress, and research has shown that these feelings can negatively affect your pain perception.

Acute pain can turn chronic for both physical and psychological reasons, so it’s imperative that you sync up with a pain specialist, get to the bottom of your issue and begin a targeted treatment problem to rid you from your acute or chronic pain. For more information, or for help with a chronic pain issue, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.