In other cases, acute pain causes lightning-fast reflex action. An example is when you remove your thumb from a hot stove before any serious damage can take place. In rare cases, however, acute pain happens for a reason that modern medicine can't explain. In a situation like this, doctors scratch their heads and point out how complex a subject pain is. Chronic Pain Chronic pain is very different from acute pain.
Chronic pain goes on and on sometimes for months or even years.
Unlike acute pain, chronic pain serves no useful purpose. It is not a warning sign at all. In some cases, chronic pain is organic. We know which part of the body is causing it, but modern medicine knows no way to stop the misery. In still other cases, there never was an injury in the first place.