One of the main characteristics of acute pain is related to time, because, according to the physician and coordinator of the pain control team at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, George Miguel G. Freire, it tends to be limited. It is the type of pain common in surgeries, cuts, injuries and traumas, which within a few hours or days it should pass.
Acute pain function
This type of pain has a fundamental function for our body: “acute pain has a purpose, a physiological function of saying that something is not going well, that the body there is something that is bothering and that must be treated”, clarifies George Miguel G. Freire.
What are the causes?
According to the lead nurse of the pain group at Hospital Santa Catarina, Carla Generoso, the cause of acute pain is identifiable, that is, there is a clear and treatable origin for this type of problem. Among the most common causes of acute pain are traumatic injuries (muscle bruises), intestinal cramps, dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps), some headaches and postoperative pain or pain related to bacterial infections (abscesses and boils, otitis, pharyngitis, etc. ).
“It is a pain that is associated with faster responses and with other stimuli, such as increased blood pressuresweat and serves as an alert for the organism”, illustrates João Batista Santos Garcia, Doctor of Medicine in the field of pain and vice-president of the National Academy of Palliative Care (ANCP).
How the body understands pain
Acute pain is an alarm signal from the body. When it manifests itself, it can be a sign of injury to the skin, muscles, viscera or central nervous system. Then, substances are released that activate the peripheral and central nerves to conduct the stimulus to the spinal cord, where the painful sensation is modulated. From there, stimuli are sent to the brain in order to warn it that, at a certain point, there is a problem, leading the person to adopt behaviors with the aim of removing or eliminating the cause of pain.
Source: Maxima
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