chronic pain vs acute pain whats the difference?

 Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists longer than 90 days beyond the course of the natural expected healing time.  As a chiropractor in San Diego, I get calls from both new and established patients on a regular basis who complain of back pain, neck pain, etc.  One of the factors that comes into play when planning a chiropractic treatment program is the duration of the patients pain. 

In general, the longer that a patient suffers with a painful condition, the longer / more intense the treatment is needed in order to fix it.  Acute or recent episodes of pain respond much quicker than do chronic conditions.


Pain is very difficult to quantify by any practitioner.  Pain is subjective in nature and completely defined by the person experiencing the symptoms, the fact that chronic pain can exist without an obvious cause makes it much more difficult to treat. 

I see the difficulties that my chronic pain patients have with their conditions on a daily basis.  Aside from the actual pain that they experience, those who suffer with chronic pain often limit their activities for fear of exacerbating their conditions.  They also have a much harder time focussing on mental tasks as the pain is a constant source of distraction.  The more severe the pain, the more difficulties these people have with attention demanding tasks.

While we strive to avoid pain, pain is a wonderful tool of the nervous system.  Pain lets us know of actual or potential tissue damage with an unpleasant sensation that directs our attention to the affected area so that we can either immediately take action to stop the process or focus on healing the injured body parts.  Chronic pain sensations are a bit more insidious.

Chronic pain often involves a decrease in the sensitivity of the nerve fibers that send messages of pain from the damaged area.  With a decreased sensitivity (threshold), the nerve is much more likely to transmit painful sensations to the brain then a healthy nerve / tissue combination. 

This activity within the nervous system is know as a wind up phenomenon and it is very difficult to stop once it has been established.  In some other cases, nerve fibers that normally don’t carry painful sensations not only begin to transmit pain signals but it is thought that they may actually generate the signals themselves.

In my office, chronic pain is often the result of untreated sprain / strain type injuries of the joints.  In untreated or under-treated sprain / strain injuries, the joint or the muscles that move the joint are laden with scar tisuue that acts to either limit or alter motion of that joint.  With time, the awkward, unnatural biomechanics of the scar tissue laden joint results in irritation, inflammation and finally pain and spasm. 

While chiropractic care is often successful at re-establishing “clean” biomechanics of a joint, it is always better to get the care in the beginning of an injury versus waiting for that injury to become chronic, with a requiring more care with a decreasing chance of complete recovery.

Because of the possibility of an acute painful condition becoming a chronic one, I always encourage my patients to take care of themselves immediately when they first start to experience pain.  I have practiced chiropractic care for almost two decades now and I can say that chronic painful conditions of the spine are devastating. 

Not only do they make you experience pain, but in most instances they limit your physical activities creating a situation that can easily degrade from inactivity secondary to pain, to deconditioning and eventually to obesity and ill health in general leading to a dissatisying lifestyle.

The bottom line on chronic pain is this – avoid it if you can.  Don’t ignore your pain.  Painful acute conditions that are left untreated can easily spiral into a chronic condition that has the potential to alter your lifestyle in a negative way.


Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

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