Acute pain occurs when an injury is fresh and active, and can stop you in your tracks. It is often the most severe, with nerve endings firing non-stop. This also potentially indicates progression or exacerbation of a chronic condition.

Chronic conditions (older problems lasting more than six months) can also have bursts of acute pain, and when this occurs within a chronic condition it can signifya flare-up or a worsening (exacerbation).

It’s important to qualify these pains since treating each of them takes on a different strategy.

Acute pain does not have to mean severe pain. New, low-level pain can also be acute, and can be the signal that something is developing. At Blue Heron Chiropractic, Dr. Dana Sibilla knows it is important to attend to new and different complaints as soon as they arise. Attending to new problems sooner makes the recovery period shorter and can speed the healing.