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|  | Types of Pain
Pain can be divided into two broad categories: nociceptive
and neuropathic. These types of pain differ in their causes, symptoms and
responses to analgesics.
Nociceptive or somatic pain
results from direct stimulation of nociceptive, intact, afferent nerve endings.
This type of pain is usually described as "dull", "sharp"
and/or "aching" or a combination of these, and the intensity of the
pain varies from mild to severe. In general, somatic pain can be well controlled
if the cause of the stimulation can be removed or treated; for example, with
surgery, chemotherapy or analgesics.
Neuropathic pain is
caused by nervous system dysfunction, rather than stimulation of intact, afferent
nerve endings. It is characterized by "burning", "shooting"
and "tingling" pain, associated with allodynia, hyperpathia, paresthesias
and dysesthesias. The most frequent causes of neuropathic pain in cancer patients
are tumour- or treatment-related nerve damage, acute herpes zoster, post-herpetic
neuralgia and phantom limb pain. Compared with nociceptive pain, neuropathic
pain usually requires more complex pharmacotherapy.
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