Chronic pain

What is chronic pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than 3 months. It is also called persistent pain or long-term pain. It is often described as pain that does not go away as expected after an injury or illness.

Key points

• About 1 in 6 New Zealanders live with chronic pain and no two people are affected in the same way.

• Chronic pain can range from mild to severe and can continue day after day or come and go.

• Chronic pain is thought to occur when nerves become over-sensitive and send warning messages to the brain even when there is no injury, or the original injury causing pain has healed. In other words, ‘the fire has been put out, but the fire alarm is still going off’.

• Chronic pain is complex and can be difficult to treat. Chronic pain can be distressing and can impact on your emotional and physical wellbeing. The aim of treatment is to find ways to support the person with pain and reduce the impact of the pain on your life.