Cooler air cannot hold as much moisture so it is released, falling as rain. These mountain barriers create a rain shadow effect that protects the San Juan Islands from the 150 inches of rain that falls annually on the mountainsâ western slopes.
About 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, defined as pain that lasts longer than six months. Chronic pain can be mild or excruciating, episodic or continuous, merely inconvenient or totally incapacitating. With chronic pain, signals of pain remain active in the nervous system for months or even years.
Whereas acute pain is a normal sensation that alerts us to possible injury, chronic pain is very different. Chronic pain persistsâoften for months or even longer. Chronic pain may arise from an initial injury, such as a back sprain, or there may be an ongoing cause, such as illness. However, there may also be no clear cause. Other health problems, such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, decreased appetite, and mood changes, often accompany chronic pain.