Here is just a partial list of the many potential causes of chronic pain.

• Back, neck, and joint pain, which can result from tension, muscle injury, nerve damage, disc disease, or arthritis.
• Burn pain, which can continue long after a burn wound has healed.
• Chronic pelvic pain, which refers to any pain in your pelvic region (the area between your belly button and your hips) from tumors, infections, or scar tissue.
• Cancer pain, which can result from the growth of a tumor with pressure on nerves, from treatment of the disease (chemotherapy or radiation treatments), or from other effects on the body.
• Infections that didn’t respond to treatment, which can occur almost anywhere in the body.
• Chronic abdominal pain (with or without physical explanation or findings), ulcers, gallbladder disease, pancreatitis, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
• Inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or other intestinal problems.
• Bursitis, which can affect any joint, most commonly knees, shoulders, hips, elbows, or wrists.
• Head and facial pain, which can be caused by dental problems, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, trigeminal neuralgia, or conditions affecting the nerves in the face.
• Chronic headaches, such as migraines, cluster headaches, and tension headaches.
• Multiple sclerosis, which can include numbness, aching, or pain.
• Angina or chest pain from heart disease.
• Uterine fibroid tumors (growths in the womb that can be associated with bleeding).
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema.
• Peripheral vascular disease (inadequate blood circulation to arms and legs).
• Ankylosing spondylitis (severe arthritis with restriction of spinal movement.)
• Myofascial pain syndromes (heightened experience of pain coming from the brain, which impacts soft tissue and muscles). This includes fibromyalgia, which is characterized by tenderness in multiple trigger points, widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and stiffness.
• Whiplash that doesn’t go away after an accident.
• Broken bones that healed incompletely or in the wrong position.
• Arthritis (rheumatoid, osteo-, or other forms), which can affect any joint, including hips, knees, neck, back, fingers, wrists, and feet.
• Neuropathy from a variety of conditions, including HIV/AIDS, injury, and cancer.

This blog post is an excerpt from Pain Recovery – How to Find Balance and Reduce Suffering from Chronic Pain by Mel Pohl, MD, FASAM, Frank Szabo, LADC, Daniel Shiode, PhD, Robert Hunter, PhD; Published by Central Recovery Press (CRP).