Acute Pain: Trivial or Traumatic? 

Growing interest in the problem of pain and its management has resulted in the proliferation of literature on the subject.  Two main types of pain are usually distinguished – acute and chronic.  It is suggested that the growing interest in the difficult area of chronic pain has produced certain, often unsupported assumptions about acute pain.  When contrasted with protracted, debilitating, and demoralizing attributes of chronic pain, acute pain is often presented as uncomplicated, clear, easy to manage, or even unimportant, or trivial.  The problem of acute pain in clinical settings is re-examined and attention drawn to the need for its prevention and more effective management.