Everyone feels pain from time to time, whether it's a stubbed toe or a broken bone. Normally, pain signals that something is wrong, and once the injury heals or the painful stimuli stops, the pain stops too. Chronic pain is different. For 1 in 5 people, their pain persists for weeks, months, or even years. Chronic pain can sometimes be the result of changes in the nervous system, unrelated to an injury. Chronic pain needs to be treated differently from acute (short-term) pain as some medications aren't appropriate for long-term use. Fortunately, new research into pain management is lighting the way for new treatments, like hypnosis.
