Pain management words you'll want to know
Pain management has a vocabulary of its own. These definitions can help you describe your pain, and talk about methods for managing it with your pain specialists.
| Acute pain | Pain that starts suddenly and may be intense, but lasts a short time |
|---|---|
| Addiction | a psychological or physical dependence on a medicine |
| Analgesic | medicine used to relieve pain |
| Adjuvant medicine | medicine that has another primary purpose but may in some cases relieve pain |
| Breakthrough pain | pain that occurs although the patient is being medicated |
| Chronic pain | Pain that lasts a long time, and does not change in intensity |
| Deep brain stimulation | a pain control method using electrodes implanted in the brain and controlled by the patient |
| Epidural medication | medicine that is injected into the lower spinal column |
| Immediate-release medication | medication that takes effect in a short period of time, useful in controlling breakthrough pain |
| Infusion | a method of administering medication into a vein |
| Intramuscular (IM) injection | injection of medication into a muscle |
| Intrathecal (IT) injection | Injection of medication into the tissue sheath around the spinal cord |
| Intravenous (IV) injection | injection of medication into a vein |
| Long-acting or sustained released medicines | medicines that act for long periods of time and are taken on a regular basis |
| Narcotic | medicine that produces pain relief by depressing the central nervous system (also called opioid) |
| Neuropathic pain | pain, usually arising from nerve damage. It is burning, shooting or numbing |
| NSAID | Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen. Many of these medicines are available over the counter, and do not require a prescription |
| Patient-controlled analgesics (PCA) | a method of pain control in which the patient controls the amount and timing of the release of the medication by pressing a button on a computerized pump that releases a preset amount of the medication into the patient's body |
| Phantom pain | pain felt in a part of the body that is no longer there |
| Nerve block | injection of medicine directly into the nerve or spine for pain control |
| Non-opioids | medicine that does not contain an opioid. Examples include acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) |
| Opioids | A group of medications derived from opium and synthetic opium. Opioids are sometimes called the gold standard for pain relief, because they provide the most effective and potent relief. Examples include morphine, hydromorphone, oxycodone and codeine. Opioids always require a doctors prescription, and because of their potential for addiction, are on Schedule III, the most highly controlled form of prescription dispensing. |
| Radiofrequency lesioning | A procedure in which a catheter is inserted through an incision and uses radio waves to destroy affected nerves |
| Rescue medicines | medicine used to control breakthrough pain |
| Somatic pain | pain, usually arising from the body wall or voluntary muscles in the legs or arms, that feels achy, throbbing and well localized in one spot |
| Subcutaneous injection (SQ or SubQ) | injection of medicine just under the skin |
| Titrate | to adjust the dose of medicine needed to control pain |
| Tolerance | adjustment of the body to medication so that more medication or another type of medication is needed to control pain |
| Vertebroplasty | specialized bone cement that is injected into the vertebrae to ease pain |
| Visceral pain | pain, usually arising from the internal organs, that feels like squeezing, cramping or pressure |
