by Laura Hinds

Created on: June 21, 2009   Last Updated: July 01, 2009

Chronic pain in whatever form can ruin a person's life. Be it back pain, Fibromyalgia pain, or migraine headaches to name a few, find the cause and treating the problem are challenges for both physicians and the patients who have to endure the suffering.

Diagnosis can take a very long time. The patient will usually undergo a lengthy initial examination which includes much more than a standard physical exam. You will be asked a battery of questions about where your pain is, how often it occurs, how long you have had it, what you have tried to help yourself, and how you rate your pain level on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest amount of pain.

Next you will likely undergo physical tests including blood work, x-rays and possibly an MRI or CT scan. There are even tests to ascertain if you have nerve damage, pinched nerves or other sources of chronic pain.

Pain is defined as chronic only if it has persisted for six months or longer. That six months may very well turn into years as you strive to find the right doctor and the right tests to diagnose and ultimately treat the cause.

A persons perception of pain is quite individual. There are people who do have a higher threshold for pain than others, as well as people who are highly sensitive to pain and therefore more affected by it. The first course of treatment may be medication. This can come in the form of an anti-inflammatory because inflammation is a major source of pain. Your doctor may suggest that your try over the counter anti-inflammatory medication at first and if that does not work, you could get a prescription for a stronger medication. Physical therapy may also be recommended, but not everyone can exercise when suffering from severe pain.

Opiods are often a last resort because they can cause addition and have the potential for abuse. However, these days doctors due recognize that when controlled properly, opiods are in fact the only medication that can help some chronic pain patients. With proper use and monitoring you may have no problem at all obtaining and using opiods as needed. There are even opiod patches that you can wear for up to 30 days which release a controlled amount of the substance on a steady basis.

For lower back pain, a common outpatient procedure is a steroidal injection into the area of pain. This is done in a sterile environment and a Fluoroscope is used to give the doctor a visual picture of exactly where he should inject the steroid. This

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