Almost everyone has experienced pain at some time or another. Chronic pain can interfere with life's normal processes.  Pain is a self-protective mechanism of the body that acts as an alarm system to let you know that something is wrong and that a specific area requires attention.  

Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, the subjective interpretation of the discomfort. Perception gives information on the pain's location, intensity, and something about its nature. The various conscious and unconscious responses to both sensations and perception, including the emotional consequences.

In Herbal medicine, the time honored first step is remove the cause, as opposed to conventional modern medicine that suppresses pain. In traditional medicine if the cause is not injury, it may be incorrect diet, body mechanics that are physically out of balance, not enough sleep or too much stress.