If you’ve ever twisted your ankle, accidentally cut yourself, or had a toothache, you’ve likely experienced acute pain – a temporary sensation that usually comes on suddenly and can be intense. It’s often caused by an illness, injury, surgery, or trauma.
“Typically, people use descriptors like sharp, dull, burning, achy, shooting, or throbbing,” says Carolyn Kloepping, MD, an anesthesiologist and pain management physician at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian in New York City. “Acute pain can sometimes be intermittent or constant.”
In most cases, acute pain resolves once the underlying cause is treated, making it important to seek medical attention to discuss treatment options. Understanding acute pain is key to recognizing it early, getting the right treatment, and finding relief.
1. Acute Pain Is Different From Chronic Pain
The primary distinction between acute and chronic pain lies in its duration. Acute pain is short-lived, typically lasting less than three months. It should resolve as the sprained ankle heals, the cut mends, or the toothache is treated. Chronic pain, however, is persistent, lasting three months or longer. It may stem from disease, injury, or unknown causes. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain doesn’t always disappear once the initial cause is addressed.
2. There Are Many Potential Causes of Acute Pain
As a pain management physician, Dr. Kloepping often sees patients with acute low back pain related to injuries like workout-related strains, car accidents, or disc herniations.
Other common causes of acute pain include:
- Broken or fractured bones
- Childbirth
- Cuts, scrapes, and burns
- Dislocated joints
- Headaches
- Infections
- Injury from a fall or a hit
- Sore throat
- Sprains or strains
- Surgery or other medical procedures
- Toothaches
Not all causes of acute pain require immediate medical attention. Minor cuts and scrapes often heal with at-home care. However, more serious causes, such as broken bones, dislocated joints, or severe burns, may necessitate a visit to urgent care or the emergency room.
“Typically, acute pain should respond to conservative measures like RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), if appropriate,” says Kloepping. “But if the acute pain is related to a major trauma – like a major car accident or a major injury – someone should seek care instead of assuming that it’ll get better on its own.”
If you have questions about addressing the cause of acute pain, consult your doctor.
3. Acute Pain Can Act as Your Body’s Warning System
Experiencing some acute pain isn’t necessarily negative. It may be your body’s way of protecting you from further harm. For example, the sensation of heat when touching a hot stove prompts you to withdraw your hand. Pain when stepping on a sore foot signals a need to reduce pressure, preventing further injury.
This protective type of acute pain is called nociceptive pain. It’s the aching, burning, or throbbing sensation felt after an injury that causes tissue damage. Nerve endings called nociceptors activate and send a message to the brain indicating a problem that needs attention.
4. You Shouldn’t Ignore Acute Pain
It’s important not to ignore acute pain or hope it resolves on its own. Trying to push through pain can worsen the condition. “Don’t try to tough it out,” says Kloepping. “If pain is significantly impacting your quality of life, if it’s impacting your normal activity level, you should seek care.”
Recognizing and treating acute pain early can speed healing, improve recovery outcomes, enhance overall quality of life, and boost daily functioning. “Our goal with acute pain is that we address it early on, that we restore the patient’s function and their capacity early on, so that they don’t become debilitated by the pain or deconditioned as a result of whatever process is causing their acute pain,” says Kloepping.
If you’re experiencing pain, see your doctor to receive a diagnosis and develop a comprehensive treatment plan addressing the underlying cause.
5. Acute Pain Treatment Includes Medication and Nonmedication Options
There are many treatment options to help manage acute pain. Your approach will depend on the specific cause of the pain.
“We consider a variety of treatment options,” says Kloepping. “Sometimes we’ll use pharmacologic treatment options or medications to help address acute pain. Our typical mainstays are nonopioid analgesics.”
Nonmedication options also play an important role in treating acute pain. These may include physical therapy, exercise, stress reduction, bioelectric therapy, muscle relaxants, and, in some cases, narcotics like codeine or morphine.
6. Talk to Your Doctor About Acute Pain That Doesn’t Respond to Treatment
Recovery timelines vary depending on the underlying cause of the acute pain. If the pain doesn’t respond to initial treatment or worsens, you should consult your doctor.
“If pain is not improving over about one to two weeks or is significantly worsening; if the patient has new symptoms, such as weakness, numbness, fevers, bowel or bladder dysfunction; or if the patient has any swelling or redness over an affected area associated with pain, we recommend they come and see their physician for an assessment,” says Kloepping.
Your doctor may reevaluate the cause of the pain, suggest a new treatment, or refer you to a pain management specialist for a more targeted approach.
7. Acute Pain Can Become Chronic
Approximately 32 percent of people with acute low back pain transition to chronic pain. It’s not fully understood why some individuals develop chronic pain while others don’t, but certain factors may increase the risk, including being female, being younger, certain health conditions, genetics, a history of anxiety or depression, the nature of the original injury or surgery, and preexisting pain.
Pain can lead to changes in the central nervous system that increase sensitivity to pain or cause pain even after the initial cause has healed, potentially resulting in chronic pain. “Our bodies can become sensitized to pain, leading to something called central sensitization, if the acute pain is not well managed in its early phases,” says Kloepping. “Central sensitization involves increased flow of information between the site of origin of pain to the brain, resulting in pain persisting much beyond its typical time course and pain that may be a little bit more difficult to address in the long run.”
Recognizing, addressing, and treating acute pain promptly can help prevent it from becoming chronic.
The Takeaway
- Acute pain is intense, sudden, and short-lived, lasting from a few minutes to three months.
- Minor causes of acute pain may improve with at-home care, while more serious causes require medical attention.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of acute pain can improve recovery outcomes and prevent the transition to chronic pain.
