ABSTRACT
Acute pain ➤ has a relatively recent onset, and resolves as soon as the cause of the pain has been dealt with – for example, removal of the decayed tooth that is causing toothache, or removal of the infl amed appendix that is causing appendicitis. Chronic pain ➤ is pain or discomfort that continues for more than a month after an acute illness, or a reasonable time after healing is expected following an illness – for example, osteoarthritis (a degenerative joint disease that causes infl ammation of the joints, and which is very common in the elderly), and recurrent backache following a back injury.
