Understand what acute pain is and its main causes

One of the main characteristics of acute pain is related to time, because, according to physician and coordinator of the pain management team at the Israelite Albert Einstein Hospital, George Miguel G. Freire, it tends to be limited. It’s the type of pain common in surgery, cuts, wounds, and trauma that should go away within a few hours or days.

Acute pain function

This type of pain has a fundamental function for our body: “acute pain has a goal, a physiological function to say that something is not right, that the body has something that bothers and that needs to be treated”, explains George Miguel G. Freire.

What are the causes?

According to the head nurse of the Santa Catarina Hospital pain group, 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 pimples, otitis, pharyngitis, etc.).

“It is a pain that is associated with faster responses and other stimuli, such as increased blood pressure, sweating and has an alert function for the body”, explains the doctor of medicine in the area of ​​pain and vice president by the National Academy of Palliative Care (ANCP), João Batista Santos Garcia.

How the body understands pain

Sharp pain is a warning signal from the body. When it occurs, it can be a sign of damage to the skin, muscles, viscera, or central nervous system. Subsequently, 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 to warn it that, at some point, there is a problem, leading the person to adopt behaviors aimed at removing or eliminating the cause of the pain.