While pain is a subjective feeling, and an unpleasant sensation there is not one definition that explains what exactly pain is. We do however know that a pain pathway helps understand what pain is. Pain begins from a painful stimulus which activates nociceptor or pain receptors. This receptor sends pain signals to the spinal cord synapse. At this point a reflex response to the pain, which helps move the body away from the source of pain. Neurons then communicate to the ascending tracts to the brain. Two tracts; one for acute sharp pain called neospinothalamic tract and the paleospinothalamic tract for slower impulses. The tracts connect to the reticular formation in the brainstem, hypothalamus, thalamus and other structures. (Karin C. VanMeter,
p.483 The cell bodies of primary-order neurons or pain-transmitting neurons reside in the dorsal root ganglia just lateral to the spine along the sensory pathways that penetrate the posterior part of the cord. The second order neurons are found in the dorsal horn (p.484) Most nociceptive information tranvels by means of ascending columns in the lateral spinothalamic tract (also called the anterolateral funiculus). The principal target for nociceptive afferents is the thalamus (the major relay station of sensory information in general) Third order neurons project to portions of the CNS involved in the processing and interpretation of pain, the chief areas being the reticular and limbic systems and cerebral cortex. (p 484)
What is pain? The word pain consists of many definitions. It can be both mental and physical. Losing a loved one can result in mental pain, while physical pain is usually caused by external and internal injuries. Pain differs depending on the source. There are some that even argue that pain is just a fabric of our imagination.
1. It is important that we take into consideration, areas other than physical pain and have an holistic approach. Pain is whatever the person who is suffering it feels it to be. Physical pain can be experienced as a result of disease or injury, or some other form of bodily distress. For example childbirth. Although not associated with injury or disease, but can be an extremely painful experience. Pain can also be social, emotional and spiritual as well as just physical.
Pain effects the body through the nerves. The phenomena of pain is conveyed from a peripheral part of the person, through afferent nerves to a part of the brain, similar to sight, touch, and hearing. These signals are then interpreted by the brain as pain (Murphy, 1981). The nerve cells used to relay pain messages to the brain are specific nerve cells called nociceptors. These nerves do not send messages until "the stimulus reaches noxious levels," (McClesky, 1992).
Pain is not just a symptom, but a specific problem that needs to be treated. Pain is a neurologic response to unpleasant stimuli. What is the gate control theory of pain? What are the classifications of pain? What are some ways to manage pain?
To most people, pain is a nuisance. But to others, pain controls their life. The feeling discomforts us in ways that can sometimes seem almost imaginable. These feelings can lead to many different side effects if not dealt with or diagnosed. These effects can include depression, anxiety, and incredible amounts of stress. The truth about pain is that it is vital to our existence. Without the nervous system responding to pain, we would have no idea if we were touching a hot stove, being stuck by a porcupine's needles, or something else that could leave a lasting effect upon our bodies without us even knowing anything about it. This warning system helps to alert us when there is
Acute pain is a sudden onset of an unpleasant sensation and is usually sharp in quality. It serves to alert the body that something is wrong. There are many factors that could cause acute pain such as surgery, broken bones, dental work, burns, cuts, labor, or childbirth to name a few (Acute, 2014). Pain is the response triggered by the nervous system in response to tissue damage or damage to the body. Microscopic pain receptors, called nociceptor, within the skin register this occurrence and become active and begin sending electrical signals through, depending on the type of pain, either A-delta or C nerve fibres . This signal is passed from neuron to neuron through the spinal cord across junctions called synapses. Eventually this signal reaches
To most people, pain is a nuisance, but to others pain controls their life. The feeling discomforts us in ways that can sometimes seem almost imaginable. These feelings can lead to many different side effects if not dealt with or diagnosed. These effects can include depression, anxiety, and incredible amount of stress. The truth about pain is that it is vital to our existence. Without the nervous system responding to pain, we would have no idea if we were touching a hot stove, being stuck by a porcupine’s needles, or something else that could leave a lasting effect upon our bodies without us even knowing anything about it.
There are many different types of pain which can be categorised depending on how the pain is caused and how long the pain lasts. If pain results from tissue damage then it is called nociceptive pain and this includes pain from pressure applied outside of the body, like a cut or a burn, or from pressure inside the body such as a tumour. Another type of pain is neuropathic pain which is pain experienced when there is damage to
Pain is something that connects all of us. From birth to death we can identify with each other the idea and arguably the perception of it. We all know we experience it, but what is more important is how we all perceive it. It is known that there are people out there with a ‘high’ pain tolerance and there are also ones out there with a ‘low’ pain tolerance, but what is different between them? We also know that pain is an objective response to certain stimuli, there are neurons that sense and feel pain and there are nerve impulses that send these “painful” messages to the brain. What we don’t know is where the pain
into the spinal cord and brain stem in turn reaching the brain itself where the sense of pain can be
What is pain? If you ask someone to tell you the definition of pain they will typically state something that hurts. Registered nurses should know the definition of pain and how it can be identified on their patients. However, Abdalrahim, Majali, Stomberg, and Bergbom (2010) propose that nurses did not receive adequate education in pain management and suggest the lack of knowledge hinders their ability to adequate control their patients’ pain. Therefore, the unethical treatment of pain can be traced back nurses.
Pain and comfort as a rule are considered opposing in the needs of human beings. Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with potential tissue damage. Pain can be divided into categories of long-term pain or short-term pain and by the type of pain, level of pain, location of pain, and ease of solving the pain. Frequently, there is no way to completely manage pain, specifically in end-of-life care. Pain is at
Pain is not only defined as a sensation or a physical awareness, but also entails perception. Moreover, pain is an unpleasant and an uncomfortable emotion that is transferred to the brain by sensory neurons. There are various kinds of pain and how one perceives them is varied as well. Certain parts of the brain also play a key role in how one feels pain such as the parietal lobe, which is involved in interpreting pain while the hypothalamus is responsible for the response to pain one has. Although some believe pain is just a physical awareness and is in the body, pain is all in one’s mind because the perception of pain and the emotion that controls its intensity differs in individuals and when pain itself is administered to the body, the brain determines the emotions one attaches to each painful experience.
These two different systems that deal with pain are part of the limbic system. Here, the brain is able to modulate how much pain the body is going to feel. A very important component to this pain is the frontal lobectomy. It is very common in cancer patients to have this area removed and this procedure is called a lobectomy. The patients can still register the fact that they are in pain, yet the pain does not bother them in the slightest. Therefore, pain should be viewed as simply a “signal” to the brain that something is wrong, but when the signal reaches the emotional part of the brain, it is then that the body feels pain. This emotional response to pain is involved with the anterior cingulate gyrus and the right ventral prefrontal cortex.