Long-term degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis, disc herniations, and nerve damage are a major cause of chronic pain, as are many other incurable musculoskeletal conditions. Injuries to soft tissues that don’t receive the correct treatment in the early stages can also become chronic problems, like an acute back injury developing into ongoing lower back pain. Conditions arising from repetitive stress that lead to inflammation and small tears in your tendons, such as tennis elbow or tendonitis, are another frequent cause of chronic pain. Chronic pain often starts when there’s an injury or illness, and in the acute stage, the pain acts as a warning that there’s something wrong. However, after the acute phase, the pain sometimes continues even though it’s become redundant, so instead of helping you it’s making everything far harder. Chronic pain can also be a result of nerve damage or dysfunction, which means your nerve endings are sending pain signals back to your brain even when there’s no damage to the tissues.