Symptoms of acute pain
Acute pain is a subjective experience, influenced by physical, psychological and
environmental factors. Even a person’s attitudes, beliefs and personality can affect their
pain experience.4
The symptoms of acute pain can also vary depending on what part of the
body is affected by injury or a medical condition. Some common symptoms of acute pain
include:2
- Sharp pain
- Throbbing
- Burning
- Stabbing pain
- Tingling
- Weakness
- Numbness
Although acute pain usually subsides when the underlying injury or medical condition
heals,
the experience of pain prior to healing can affect your work and social life, and even
impact your mental health.2 In fact, if not appropriately treated, acute pain can turn
into
chronic pain which is more difficult to manage. That’s why managing acute pain is so
important.
Managing acute pain
There are a number of things you can do to help manage acute pain. These
include:1,2
- Resting while the injury is healing
- Pain medicines, particularly those that treat pain
like CELEBREX RELIEF®; these are available from your Pharmacist without a prescription
- Physical therapies like heat and cold packs, massage, hydrotherapy
and
keeping active
- Psychological therapies like relaxation techniques, yoga and
meditation
- Mind and body techniques such as acupuncture.
A combination of treatments is usually more effective than a single treatment, and
understanding the location and underlying cause of acute pain can help tailor pain
management strategies.2
This website contains more information about the specific management
strategies for back pain, shoulder pain, ankle
sprain and period pain.
When to see a doctor
If pain is severe or does not improve within 48 hours of resting and taking
non-prescription pain medicines, you should seek medical advice.5
When pain continues to be experienced even after the injury has healed and the pain lasts
for more than 3 months, this
is called persistent or chronic pain. Persistent or chronic pain is treated differently to
acute pain; you should consult your doctor for the treatment of persistent
pain.5,6