To live a life hampered by pain when treatment is available, is to cheat one out of the full quality of life that is possible. Pain effects the body through the nerves. The phenomena of pain is conveyed from a peripheral part of the person, through afferent nerves to a part of the brain, similar to sight, touch, and hearing. The nerve cells used to relay pain messages to the brain are specific nerve cells called nociceptors. Pain can be acute or chronic.
Acute pain is intense, short in duration and generally a reaction to trauma.
Chronic pain does not go away, and can range from a dull ache to excruciating agony. Terminal and non-terminal illnesses can both be causes of chronic pain. Chronic Pain Chronic pain has four mechanisms. Nociception is a neural signal of threatened or damaged tissue, and is the classical pain pathway. Central pain states are thought to be caused by abnormal activity in neurons in the afferent pathway.