Most of us live lives free of pain, except for the odd moments of acute discomfort when we injure ourselves.
However, many people suffer years of intractable pain and for them it becomes a way of life.
Jocelyn Ryder-Smith visits two clinics that deal exclusively with the problems of chronic pain and she talks to doctors and patients about the different types of pain, how it is experienced and the latest developments n pain relief. >.
Research CLARA HEWITT
Producer JANE MARSHALL BBC Birmingham