Why can pain last longer than an injury?
An injury and the pain associated with it do not always follow the same timetable. Pain may continue after tissues heal, and changes in nerve signaling can contribute. Persistent inflammation or other ongoing conditions can also matter. Understanding those possibilities requires separating damage signals from the experience of pain, without dismissing that experience.
Questions you could explore
- Why might a picture of the original injury be insufficient to explain someone’s pain months later?
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- Great Ormond Street Hospital, NHSChronic pain
Explains that pain can continue after tissue healing and emphasizes that the child’s pain is real.
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