But medical information is always changing, and some information given here may be out of date. For regularly updated information on a variety of health topics, please visit familydoctor.org , the AAFP patient education Web site. An article on this topic is available in this issue of AFP . Pain is what you feel when you've been hurt or have a disease or illness. Acute pain doesn't last long and usually goes away as your body heals.
Chronic pain can occur without a known cause.
Along with the discomfort, chronic pain can cause low self-esteem, depression and anger, and it can interfere with your daily activities. Treatment of chronic pain usually involves medicines and therapy. Medicines include pain relievers, antidepressants and anticonvulsants. Different types of pain get better with different types of medicines. The medicines that will help you the most depend on what type of pain you have and how long it lasts.