The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as:
"An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage."

Federal law states you must have a valid RX prescription from your doctor to buy certain RX medications.
Explaining Medicine offers information designed to help you get the facts on pain.

1. What is Pain?
2. Acute VS. Chronic.
3. Treatment options.
4. Current pain research.
5. NSAIDS: Celebrex, Vioxx, Ultram, Tramadol, Fioricet
6. Narcotic Analgesics

What is Pain?
Pain is a universal phenomenon, experienced by everyone everywhere. It is an extremely complex thing, varying in experience, degree, scope, nature, and clinical significance. Scientists, clinicians, philosophers, writers, clergy, and many others have long sought a better understanding of the phenomenon of pain. While we know much about pain, major gaps in knowledge still exist.

Acute VS. Chronic Pain:
The two major types of pain are acute and chronic. Acute pain is experienced recently and usually indicates injury, lasts a short while, decreases during healing, can be associated with hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system, and is often accompanied by anxiety. This type of pain typically accompanies acute injury, disease, or surgery. With the idea of acute pain is the concept of episodic pain, which is acute pain that recurs at different points in time. These episodes can recur over an individuals lifetime or for a specific period. Episodic pain can be extremely intense with indeterminable endings, such as the pain caused by migraine headaches.

Chronic pain, as defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) in 1986, continues beyond the normal time of healing. The time frame can range from one month to more than six months, but this definition cites three months as the normal point of division between acute and chronic pain. Some pain may be considered chronic, but is associated with medical conditions such as arthritis or some types of cancer in which tissue damage exists. Other chronic pain syndromes (low back pain or headaches) may occur without tissue damage. Chronic pain can be accompanied by adaptation of the autonomic nervous system, and often is associated with such symptoms as sleep disturbance, constipation, depression, and appetite changes. It is important to note, however, that 'chronicity' may depend on the nature of the original injury or pathology so flexibility is needed in the definition of chronic. Some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage. Many chronic pain conditions affect older adults.

Treatment options:
Drugs, acupuncture, local electrical stimulation, brain stimulation, and surgery, are some common treatments for chronic pain. Sometimes the patient is given a placebo, which in some cases has resulted in a reduction or elimination of pain. Relaxation and medication therapies, biofeedback, psychotherapy, and behavior modification may also be used to treat chronic pain. Many people who suffer from chronic pain can be helped if they understand all the causes of pain and the many different steps that can be taken to counteract the effects of chronic pain. Scientists believe that advances in neuroscience will lead to better treatments for chronic pain in the future.

Current pain research:
Clinical investigators have found that chronic pain patients often have lower-than-normal levels of endorphins in their spinal fluid. Investigations of acupuncture include wiring the needles to stimulate nerve endings electrically (electroacupuncture), which some researchers believe activates endorphin systems. Other experiments with acupuncture have shown that there are higher levels of endorphins in cerebrospinal fluid following acupuncture. Investigators are studying the effect of stress on the experience of chronic pain. Chemists are synthesizing new analgesics and discovering painkilling virtues in drugs not normally prescribed for pain.

More Information:

MedlinePlus: Pain
Wikipedia: Pain
FDA: Managing Chronic Pain
National Institutes of Health: Pain Consortium
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Chronic Pain
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Pain
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM): Acupuncture
National Pain Foundation
American Academy of Family Physicians: Chronic Pain
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM)
American Pain Society
American Pain Foundation
American Chronic Pain Association
Mayo Clinic: Pain, Chronic Pain
ClinicalTrials.gov

Celebrex and Vioxx are in a class called NSAID's. Both Celebrex and Vioxx are used to treat arthritis and menstrual pain. They work as anti-inflammatories. Celebrex works by inhibiting the Cox-2 enzyme as does Vioxx.

Ultram and it's generic counterpart, Tramadol, are also available. These medications are not in the NSAID class. Ultram and Tramadol work as a centrally acting synthetic anlgesics and provide no anti-inflammatory activity. Both Ultram and Tramadol are used to manage moderate to moderately severe pain. Ultram and Tramadol help your body to manage pain by acting directly on your brain and spinal cord to reduce the amount of pain. Ultram and Tramadol also work by reducing the size of the pain signal passed from one nerve to another.

Fioricet is a pain reliever and sedative. Fioricet is used to relieve mild to moderate pain and tension headaches.