Temporal pain is sudden, beginning and subsiding with tissue improvement. Etiologic pain can be either malignant or nonmalignant. Physiologic pain is nociceptive and neuropathic. Pain becomes chronic if it has not abated by six months after the initial injury has healed and there has not been a response to the pain or relief of the pain. By definition, chronic pain is resistant to treatment.
Chronic pain can cause functional loss and social withdrawal.
Chronic, nonmalignant pain is closely linked to depression. Studies have demonstrated the connection between chronic pain and changes in mood and behavior. Often, patients possess a compromised ability to express the fact that they are in pain, explain where their pain is, and communicate the intensity of their pain. The decreased cognitive level of elderly patients will affect their ability to understand the assessment instructions and communicate pain to the health care professional. Nurses normally report levels of pain to the physician when asking for pain medications.