What Is Acute Pain?

Acute pain has been defined as “the physiologic response and experience to noxious stimuli that can become pathologic, is normally sudden in onset, time limited, and motivates behaviors to avoid actual or potential tissue injuries.” Acute pain usually lasts for less than 7 days but often extends up to 30 days; for some conditions, acute pain episodes may recur periodically and in some patients, acute pain persists to become chronic.¹

• Acute pain is a primary reason for visits to the doctor and many hospitalized patients experience acute pain during their stay. Is the main reason for up to 70% of visits to emergency departments.²
• Acute pain occurs when noxious stimuli perceived by the peripheral nervous system are transmitted and along the way modulated by the central nervous system.²
• Acute pain has a sudden onset, short duration, and is clearly associated with a cause. ³
• Reflects activation of nociceptors and/or sensitized central neurons.⁴
• Often associated with ANS (autonomic nervous system) and other protective reflex responses.⁴