Glossary of Terms

Absence or decreased pain response to stimulation that would normally be painful.

A medicine that reduces inflammation.

Pain associated with a lesion or dysfunction of the central nervous system.

An abnormal, unpleasant sensation..

Diminished sensitivity to sensory stimulation of the skin.

Inflammation of a nerve or nerves.

A sensory nerve receptor that responds to pain.

The most minimal stimulation that a person recognizes as painful—this varies from individual to individual.

Pain and neurologic deficit caused by injury to a nerve root. (Link to sciatica animation)

An area in muscle or connective tissue that is hypersensitive to touch or pressure.

Psychological or emotional need for a drug. Associated with cravings and inappropriate efforts to obtain the drug.

An agent (or agents) that reversibly produce anesthesia.

Disorder or disease of a joint.

The opposite of acute pain. Persistent, long-term pain.

An injection into the outer layer of the spinal canal (the epidural space).

Usually refers to opioids – pain-relieving drugs that are derivatives of opium.

Pain originating from the malfunctioning of the nervous system.

A stimulus that is harmful or potentially harmful to body tissue, and triggers a painful or unpleasant sensation.

The greatest amount of pain a person can tolerate.

Pain felt in a body part that is distant from the pain origin. The origin and the body part may share a common nerve pathway.

Minimally invasive spine surgery involves surgery that is able to be performed on an outpatient basis, through a small keyhole incision rather than having to make a large open incision to reach the patient’s spine. By performing surgery this way, there is a little scar tissue formation over the nerves that are decompressed, the surgery is tissue sparing, maintains the structural integrity of the spine, and makes for a faster and less painful recovery.

The science and study of pain phenomena.

Absence or partial loss of sensation.

Pain in or affecting a joint.

Pain due to the loss of normal sensory input into the central nervous system.

Increased sensitivity to pain.

An injection of medication directly into or around a nerve or group of nerves to provide regional pain relief.

Disturbance of function or pathologic change in one or more nerves.

A pain-killing drug chemically related to opium.

An abnormal sensation such as tingling or ‘pins and needles’ that may be uncomfortable, but not truly painful.

Surgical incision of nerve root(s) within the spinal canal.