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Medical Information
>> Types of Traffic Accident Injuries >> Medical
Dictionaries >> Pain Dictionary
Pain Dictionary for Patients
Steven Richeimer, M.D.
Director
USC Pain Management, USC Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Acupuncture: Oriental practice
of inserting needles into the skin at points (Meridians) of
the body to help relieve pain and treat illness.
Acute Pain: Sharp or intense
short-term pain. Typically follows injury or surgery.
Addiction: Psychological or
emotional need for a drug. Associated with cravings and inappropriate
efforts to obtain the drug.
Algology: The science and study
of pain phenomena.
Allodynia: The sensation of
pain triggered by a stimulus to the skin that is normally
not painful (e.g., lightly touching a sunburn).
Analgesia: Absence or decreased
pain response to stimulation that would normally be painful.
Analgesic: Medicine used to
relieve pain.
Anesthesia: Absence or partial
loss of sensation.
Anesthetic: An agent (or agents)
that reversibly produce anesthesia.
Anti-inflammatory: A medicine
that reduces inflammation.
Arthropathy: Disorder or disease
of a joint.
Athralgia: Pain in or affecting
a joint.
Causalgia: Intense pain and
sensitivity usually following injury to a peripheral nerve.
Central Pain: Pain associated
with a lesion or dysfunction of the central nervous system.
Chronic Pain: The opposite
of acute pain. Persistent, long-term pain.
Deafferentation Pain: Pain
due to the loss of normal sensory input into the central nervous
system.
Dermatome: An area of skin
supplied by fibers of a single nerve root.
Dysesthesia: An abnormal, unpleasant
sensation.
Epidural: An injection into
the outer layer of the spinal canal (the epidural space).
Hyperalgesia: Increased sensitivity
to pain.
Hyperesthesia: Abnormal, acute
sensitivity to sensory stimulation of the skin.
Hypoalgesia: Diminished sensitivity
to sensory stimulation of the skin.
Narcotic: Usually refers to
opioids--pain-relieving drugs that are derivatives of opium.
Nerve Block: An injection of
medication directly into or around a nerve or group of nerves
to provide regional pain relief.
Neuralgia: Pain in the distribution
of a nerve or nerves and caused by nerve damage or dysfunction.
Neuritis: Inflammation of a
nerve or nerves.
Neuropathic: Pain originating
from the malfunctioning of the nervous system.
Neuropathy: Disturbance of
function or pathologic change in one or more nerves.
Nociceptive: Response to a
painful stimulus.
Nociceptor: A sensory nerve
receptor that responds to pain.
Noxious Stimulus: A stimulus
that is harmful or potentially harmful to body tissue, and
triggers a painful or unpleasant sensation.
Opioid or Opiate: A pain-killing
drug chemically related to opium.
Pain: An unpleasant feeling
that may be associated with disease or trauma.
Pain Threshold: The most minimal
stimulation that a person recognizes as painful—this
varies from individual to individual.
Pain Tolerance Level: The greatest
amount of pain a person can tolerate.
Paresthesia: An abnormal sensation
such as tingling or ‘pins and needles’ that may
be uncomfortable, but not truly painful.
Radiculitis: Inflammation of
a nerve root in the spinal canal.
Radiculopathy: Pain and neurologic
deficit caused by injury to a nerve root.
Referred Pain: Pain felt in
a body part that is distant from the pain origin. The origin
and the body part may share a common nerve pathway.
Rhizotomy: Surgical incision
of nerve root(s) within the spinal canal.
Somatosensory: Sensory signals
from the body—usually referring to signals from the
limbs rather than internal organs.
Trigger Point: An
area in muscle or connective tissue that is hypersensitive
to touch or pressure.
About Doctor Steven
Richeimer
Doctor Steven Richeimer holds the academic position
of Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry at
the University of Southern California at Davis. Dr. Richeimer
is the Director of USC Pain Management
and Director, Norris Cancer Hospital Pain Management. He is
Board Certified in the fields of anesthesiology and psychiatry,
and in the sub-specialty of pain management.
From the University of California San Francisco,
School of Medicine, Dr. Richeimer earned a Medical Degree.
After finishing medical residencies at UCLA in psychiatry
and anesthesiology, Dr. Richeimer completed his pain management
training at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Dr.
Richeimer then went on to become the Director of Pain Management
at the UC Davis Medical Center where he established a national
reputation for his comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach.
Dr. Richeimer is a member of the American Pain
Society, American Society of Regional Anesthesia, American
Society of Anesthesiologists, International Association for
the Study of Pain, and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Richeimer has published two books and over
twenty-five articles for peer-reviewed journals. This doctor
is dedicated to using the full scope of medical science to
provide personalized, effective care.
If believe you have been injured as a result
of a traffic accident, it is important to visit a qualified
doctor to evaluate your injuries. Trying to "heal yourself"
could cause your body more harm.
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