2. Pain Concepts
Characteristic Acute Pain Chronic Pain
Cause Generally Often
known unknown
Duration of Short, well- Persists after
characterized healing, ≥3
Pain
months
Treatment Underlying Underlying
approach disease disease and
pain disorder
3. Pain Concepts
• Types of Neuropathies
– Focal
• Mononeuritis
• Entrapment
– Diffuse
• Proximal
• Distal
– Large fiber
– Small fiber
4. Pain Concepts
• Problems in Neuropathic Pain
– Many patient with neuropathic pain
continue to suffer, despite optimal therapy
– Development of rationally based, novel
treatments has been slow
– Neural mechanism for ‘pain’ is unproven
for the common syndromes (DM Peripheral
neuropathy/Postherpetic neuralgia)
