Glossary of Pain Terminology

Allodynia

Pain that is triggered by (resulting from) a non-noxious stimulus (e.g. brushing your hair, a light touch of the skin)

Anaesthesia Dolorosa

A complication of surgery involving nerves (neurosurgery) which is thought to be incurable. This type of condition can also occur naturally through some external trauma and a common example is trigeminal neuralgia, a devastatingly acute and recurring pain in the facial nervous system.

Breakthrough Pain

Thought by some specialists to be the result of medication becoming ineffective, which in turn causes pre-existing pain to worsen. This type of pain can last for many hours unless treated by changing drugs or by trying new pain management methods.

Causalgia

A type of pain resulting from the natural phenomenon of the nerve healing process, which usually presents as a burning sensation. Ironically, the skin of the sufferer can be quite cool and moist, sometimes accompanied by intermittent swelling.

Hyperalgesia

A condition of altered perception in that stimuli which would normally cause minor pain actually causes severe pain.

Hyperalgesia

Most commonly a component of a neuropathic pain.

Hyperpathia

Can sometimes occur through over-stimulation of nervous system components which when prolonged, can result in acute bursts of severe pain. Hyperpathia is usually an element of a neuropathic pain condition.

Idiopathic Pain

A condition for which there is no discernable cause which can last for several months then disappear.

Malignant pain

Complex pain which is directly linked to cancer which is usually experienced in the body tissue surrounding the site of the tumour. Can also be suffered as a result of treatment (chemotherapy or radiotherapy) as well as by the disease itself.

Paresthesia

More commonly referred to as 'pins and needles, this is a tingling or pricking sensation. A mild form is when a limb 'goes to sleep' through sitting on it or holding it in a restricted position which restricts blood flow.

Transient Paresthesia

Parasthesia caused by pressure on a particular nerve, most commonly in the body extremeties such as fingers and toes. Easily relieved by removing the pressure.

Chronic Paresthesia

Same symptoms as parasthesia but usually an indicator of more serious problems such as long term nerve damage.

Phantom Limb Pain

This is the strange and confusing sensations suffered by amputees after their operation. This is generally because nerve endings and nerves themselves can be traumatised by the initial injury which sends false signals up the spinal cord to the brain.

Psychogenic pain

A persistent and debilitating type of pain due to a psychological reason with no physical evidence to support it. However, in most cases, a physical cause will be discovered.

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

This pain complex is a chronic pain which presents because there is a malfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems. The type of pain suffered with this condition is sharp and burning. This pain can also be exacerbated by body movement.