Acetaminophen 
Non-prescription pain reliever and fever reducer, such as Tylenol and Anacin-3.  Helps reduce mild to moderate pain.

Acupuncture
An alternative pain-relief therapy involving the insertion of needles into specific exterior body locations. 

Acute  
Having a sudden onset, sharp rise, and short course.

Addiction 
Psychological or emotional dependence on the effects of a drug.

Analgesic 
A drug used to relieve pain. Analgesics are classified as either narcotic or non-narcotic, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Narcotics act on the brain to reduce the perception of pain. For that reason they pose a risk of tolerance and dependence. Non-narcotics act at the site of the pain to reduce the stimulation of the nerve endings. These two types are sometimes combined. Some analgesics also reduce inflammation.

Anesthesia 
Total or partial loss of sensation, especially tactile sensibility, induced by pharmaceutical agent, disease process, injury, or acupuncture.

Anesthesiologist 
Physician who specializes in giving drugs or other agents that prevent or relieve pain.

Antidepressant 
Medicines developed to treat depression.  They are prescribed based on the particular diagnosis of a patient and administered under appropriate risk management models.  In some cases, such as, depression caused by a neurochemical imbalance – anti-depressants might be essential for a favorable outcome.  Usually, treatment must continue for several weeks before full therapeutic effect can be measured.

Anti-inflammatory 
An anti-inflammatory is a medicine that reduces the swelling (inflammation) of tissues.

Autoimmune disease 
Disease process or disorder characterized by inflammation and tissue destruction caused the immune system's inability to distinguish between "self" and "non-self" substances. The immune system mistakenly attacks self, targeting the cells, tissues, and organs of a person's own body.

Biofeedback 
An alternative technique that uses monitoring devices to gain information about the body's autonomic function and processes, of which the person is normally not aware, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and skin temperature, in an attempt to gain some voluntary control over that bodily function. May be used in the clinical setting to treat certain conditions, such as hypertension, migraine headaches, and muscle tension due to bracing of muscles due to chronic pain.

Breakthrough Pain 
A transitory flare of pain of moderate to severe intensity occurring on a background of otherwise controlled pain.

Central nervous system 
One of two main division of the human nervous system (the other being the peripheral nervous system- PNS) consisting of the brain and spinal cord. The main coordinating and controlling center of the body, the CNS processes information to and from the PNS. The system is made up of gray matter (mostly nerve cells and associated parts) and white matter (mostly nerve fibers) and contains protective cerebrospinal fluid.

Central pain 
Pain associated with a lesion of the central nervous system.

Chronic disease 
An illness that stays with the patient a long time

Chronic fatigue syndrome 
A condition that is characterized by fatigue with weakness, muscle pain, lymph node swelling and lethargy.

Chronic pain 
Distinctly different from and more complex than acute pain. Chronic pain has no time limit, often has no apparent cause and serves no apparent biological purpose. Chronic pain can trigger multiple psychological problems that confound both patient and health care provider, leading to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. The most common causes of chronic pain include low-back pain, headache, recurrent facial pain, cancer pain, and arthritic pain.

Complementary and alternative medicine 
A group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine. Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine.

Corticosteroids 
Potent and effective drugs, synthetic hormones, related to the hormone cortisol that quickly reduces swelling and inflammation. Use in limited by untoward side effects, which in some cases can be serious. Commonly referred to as steroids.

Depression 
A potentially serious mental health condition that involves the body, mind and emotions, often characterized by a profound change in mood and/or a profound loss of interest in once-pleasurable things or activities.  Depression can affect the way you eat, sleep and function; how you feel about yourself and others; and what think about the world around you.

Duration of action 
The length of time that the effect of a medicine lasts.

Fibromyalgia 
Disease involving chronic, widespread pain in muscles and soft tissues surrounding the joints throughout the body with no clinical signs of inflammation.

Flexibility 
Ability to freely move within your range of motion.

Holistic medicine 
An approach to medical care that emphasizes the study of all aspects of a person's health, including physical, psychological, social, economic, and cultural factors.

Hormone 
A chemical messenger within the body that is secreted by one type of cell and acts on another type of cell.

Hyperalgesia 
Extreme sensitivity to pain.

Hyperesthesia 
Increased sensitivity to stimulation, excluding special senses.

Immune system 
The body's natural defense system, which is made up various organs and cells that produce antibodies. These antibodies are integral in the fight against invading or developing infections, foreign substances and bodies, and diseases.

Incident pain 
A term used to refer a type of breakthrough pain that is evoked by specific types of activities, such as climbing stairs, walking, running, rotating arm, etc.

Inflammation 
Inflammation means tissues or organs have become red and swollen (inflamed).

Infusion 
A method of giving pain medication into a vein or under the skin; unlike an injection, which is pushed in by a syringe, an infusion flows in by gravity. Some continuous infusions are given using a mechanical pump.

Intolerance 
The inability to tolerate a drug, a food, or any other substance.

Local anesthetic 
Drug that block nerve conduction in the region to which it is applied.

Magnetic resonance 
An imaging technique based on a computer analysis of the response of atoms of hydrogen, phosphorous or other elements to a generated magnetic field and radio signal: used to produce electronic images of specific atoms and molecular structures in solids, especially human cells, tissues and organs

Myalgia 
Collective term for muscle pain.

Narcotic 
Pain relieving drug related in action and structure to the opiates.

Nerve block 
Pain relief method in which an anesthetic is injected into a nerve.

Neuralgia 
Pain in distribution of nerve or nerves.

Neuritis 
Inflammation of a nerve or group of nerves that is characterized by pain, loss of reflexes and atrophy of the affected muscles.

Nonpharmacologic treatment 
Treatment modalities that do not utilize or involve pharmacological means, i.e. medications. Examples of such include: physical therapy, counseling and psychological support and treatment, TENS, biofeedback, imagery, etc.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)  
Class of medication, which does not contain steroids, that is often used as the initial pharmacological therapy for common inflammation, such as occurs after sustaining a muscle sprain or strain. NSAID medications primarily inhibit prostaglandin synthesis. This class of medications can also be used to treat fever, as they possess antipyretic properties. The oldest drug is this class is aspirin. NSAIDs can cause nausea and/or vomiting.

Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)  
One of several pain rating scales. This particular scale is base on an eleven point scale, with zero denoting no pain and ten signifying the worst pain imaginable. The points are assigned by the patients self report, oral or written.

Nutraceutical 
The term was coined in the 1990s by Dr. Stephen DeFelice, who defined it as "any substance that is a food or a part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements, and specific diets to genetically engineered designer foods, herbal products, and processed foods such as cereals, soups and beverages." Since the term was coined, its meaning has been modified. Health Canada defines nutraceutical as "a product isolated or purified from foods, and generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food and demonstrated to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease."

Onset of action 
Length of time it takes for a medicine to start to work.

Opiate 
Pain-killing drug chemically related to opium: also called a narcotic.

Opioid 
An opiate or synthetic narcotic

Pain assessment 
Comprehensive evaluation of the various aspects and presentation of pain, which include the patient's report of description, location, duration, intensity, occurrence, and response, as well as measurement of physical parameters: heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate, and skin temperature.

Pain behaviors 
Certain actions that a patient may present with that are either verbal or non-verbal, such as guarding, restriction of movement, rubbing of the affected area, grimacing, or sighing.

Pain control 
In cases where the pain pathology has no ability to heal despite medical or surgical therapy, intervention pain management takes on the form of "pain control." This can be done by using medications aimed at reducing the ability of the body to transmit the pain signal to the brain or, in more advanced cases, by utilizing an implantable device to alter the ability of the body's nervous system to transmit that pain signal. Other methods rely on the physician's ability to damage nervous tissue in a controlled manner to stop the pain signal.

Pain pressure threshold 
The point at which pressure applied over a muscle becomes painful.

Pain tolerance level 
The greatest level of pain that a subject is prepared to tolerate.

Pain 
An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience which is primarily associated with tissue damage or described in terms of tissue damage, or both. Pain is a complex perception that takes place only at higher levels of the central nervous system.

Palliative treatment 
Medical intervention, pharmaceutical, surgical or otherwise, which is performed with the goal of management of symptoms to improve the quality of life, rather than to alter or cure a disease.

Physical therapy 
The health profession that treats pain in muscles, nerves, joints, and bones with exercise, electrical stimulation, hydrotherapy and the use of massage, heat and cold.

Range of motion 
(ROM) range of normal movement for a joint, specifically flexion and extension, however rotation is also measured in appropriate joints. Arthritis can decrease a person's range of motion. Also, range of motion is a type of exercise.

Referred pain 
Pain that is felt in a part of the body at a site other than at its origin

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) 
More recently known as CRPS or complex regional pain syndrome, this is a natural reflex of the body that is only present due to some other stimulus. It is frequently treated by blocking the sympathetic nervous system with a local anesthetic injection for temporary pain relief. The goal is to block the nerve repeatedly so that it reduces its intensity and stop reflexively returning to its hyperactive painful state. A more appropriate approach is to identify the underlying stimulus for the sympathetic hyperactivity so that both the underlying cause as well as the sympathetic reflex can be resolved and the body can be given the opportunity to heal.

Regional anesthesia 
The abolition of painful impulses from any region or regions of the body by temporarily interrupting the sensory nerve conductivity. Motor function may or may not be involved, but the patient does not lose consciousness.

Relaxation technique 
Methods used to lessen tension, reduce anxiety and manage pain.

Spasm 
The involuntary, repetitive tightening or "bunching" of muscles.

TENS 
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator.

Trigger point 
A hypersensitive area or site in muscle or connective tissue at which touch or pressure will elicit pain.

Ultrasound 
Diagnostic procedure. Utilizes high-frequency sound waves to create an image of the internal organs.