Pain Medications
- What Is Pain?
- Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
- Acetaminophen
- Acetaminophen Combinations
- Narcotics
- Abuse, Addiction, and Withdrawal
- Pain Medications to Avoid
- For More Information
- Web Links
- Synonyms and Keywords
- References
- Authors and Editors
What Is Pain?
Pain is an unpleasant sensation. Pain can be sharp or dull, burning or numbing, minor or major, acute or chronic. It can be a minor inconvenience or completely disabling.
Both the area of the injury and how the brain deals with signals from the area of pain affect the sensation. Generally, medications try either to stop the transmission of pain from the site of injury or to affect the brain directly.
The effects of pain medication are different for different people. Also, the tolerance of pain varies greatly from one person to another.
For this reason, one medication will not be right for everyone with the same injury. For example, some people are quite happy with an over-the-counter medication for an ankle sprain, while others will need a more powerful prescription pain reliever. The right pain medication depends on the person experiencing the pain, not on the condition that is causing the pain.
Next: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs »
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Pain Medications
Overview
Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation. A joint is an area of the body where two bones meet. A joint functions to allow movement of the body parts it connects. Arthritis literally means inflammation of one or more joints. Arthritis is frequently accompanied by joint pain. Joint pain is referred to as arthralgia.
Arthritis is classified as one of the rheumatic diseases. These are conditions that are different individual illnesses, with differing features, treatments, complications, and prognosis. They are similar in that they have a tendency to affect the joints, muscles, ligaments, cartilage, and tendons, and many have the potential to affect internal body areas as well.
There are many forms of arthritis (over 100 have been described so far, and the number is growing). The forms range from those related to wear and tear of cartilage (such as osteoarthritis) to those associated with inflammation as a result of an overactive immun...
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Therapeutic Injections for Pain Management »
This article focuses on the use of therapeutic injections to treat acute and chronic pain syndromes.
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