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Article: Help should be sought by those who experience chronic pain
- Article from:
- The Doings - Clarendon Hills (IL)
- Article date:
- November 27, 2008
CopyrightCopyright 2008, The Doings (Clarendon Hills, IL), Pioneer Press. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED. (Hide copyright information)
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It is estimated that more than 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.
Dr. Syed Zaffer, a physician on staff at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital who specializes in physical medicine and pain, explains "pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts beyond three to six months."
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains that while acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself, chronic pain is different.
Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous ...