Pain is a protective biological mechanism experienced by all people, an indication that damage has or may have occurred to tissues and nerves which fluctuates based on the severity of damage (Raja, Hoot & Dougherty, 2011, p. 1; Lynch, Craig & Peng, 2011. p. 3). It is an unpleasant, subjective experience both emotionally and sensory that varies for every person. There are many factors that can increase the perception of pain experienced including emotional, social, spiritual and functional circumstances (Lynch, Craif & Peng, 2011, p.3). According to Dr John Keltner, pain therapist (as cited in Schleifer, 2014, p.36) there is myriad brain states relating to pain and pain is a diverse, varied experience and new aspects are constantly being discovered. Generally, two types of pathophysiological pain are recognised; nociceptive and neuropathic.
Nociceptive pain is the pain experienced when the body is damaged by temperature, chemical, or mechanical means. When damage is caused, afferent neurons respond and the four phases of nociception result. Transduction occurs when the free ends of silent nociceptors convert toxic experience into an electrical current, leading to a nerve impulse. The nerve impulse is then transmitted to the dorsal root ganglion in the spinal cord, then the dorsal
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It can be spontaneous and without any obvious stimulant (such as damage), a heightened response to a stimulus (known as hyperalgesia) or can result from stimulation that does not typically cause pain (such as touch), called allodynia. (Bennett, 2010, p 10). Neuropathic pain can arise secondary to diseases such as diabetes, alcoholism, renal failure, HIV, cancer and cancer treatments, chronic inflammation and herpes zoster among others (Jay, 2014, p
CS has two main characteristics. Both involve a heightened sensitivity to pain and the sensation of touch. They are called ‘allodynia’ and ‘hyperalgesia.’ Allodynia occurs when a person experiences pain with things that are normally not painful. For example, chronic pain patients often experience pain even with things as simple as touch or massage. In such
Transient receptor potential (TRP) are ligand-gated controlled ion channels that function in the process of nociception where transmission pain signals by nociceptors are carried as impulses from the sensory nerves to the central nervous system through afferent neurons (Dai 2016; Marwaha et al., 2016). Nociceptors, also called noxious stimulus detectors, are pain sensory receptors made up of myelinated and unmyelinated neuron fibers that relay action potentials to the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), which are interpreted as pain (Woolf et al., 2007). Transient receptor potentials detect chemical or physical stimuli that trigger nociceptor activation that result in pain perception (Marwaha et al., 2016). The TRP channels control physiological perception of temperature, taste, pheromones and painful mechanical sensory inputs, which is accomplished through six different TRPs (TRPV1, TRPV2, TRPV3, TRPV4, TRPM8, and TRPA1) (Dai 2016; Marwaha et al., 2016). Interestingly, all six TRP channels of the three TRP family types are expressed in afferent pain sensing nociceptors (Dai 2016; Marwaha et al., 2016). This suggests that all six of the TRP channels are involved in pain perception. The afferent nociceptors are hyper-activated in diseases including neuropathic pain and peripheral inflammation. Recent findings suggest that TRP channels function in a critical position with the association of these diseases. Researchers are exploring novel
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
Neuropathic pain is a common condition resulted ref from pathology of the nervous system. It is a common syndrome comprising hyperalgesia, allodynia and spontaneous pain. The chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve is a widely used model of neuropathic pain which evokes a series of molecular, biochemical and cytoarchitectural changes in primary sensory neurons and produces neuropathic
Pain is defined as nociception. Certain types of nerve fibers to the spinal cord and up
Common diseases affiliated with somatic pain are arthritic joints, fractures, abscesses etc... Another pain associted with Physical pain is Visceral pain which is brought on by stretching. It is vaguely similar to somatic pain. Visceral pain is described as “deep pressure,” or in common terms “cramping,” “spasms,” or “squeezing.” Sometimes nausea comes along with these symptoms which can turn visceral pain into somatic pain. Lastly, with physical pain there is Neuropathic pain results from damage and trauma to the peripheral nervous system or the central nervous system, or both. It is described as “sharp,” “electric,” or “burning” pain, seperately or in combination together. However Physical Pain is not the only type of pain there is there is also Total Pain Anxiety. Anxiety is a internal and external pain that is can also be classified as fear of the unknown. ie... if you were to fall off of a ladder and badly injuring yourself once youre healed and can climb a ladder again you will have fear that you could potientally injure yourself all over again, which is anxiety. Another pain is Total Pain Interpersonal Interactions, this particular pain deals with relationships and how to cope with the loss of someone close to you. Many individuals do not have an issue with
Neuropathic pain is a broad category of non-odontogenic orofacial pain that should be in the differential diagnosis. Trigeminal neuralgia is often described as sharp, shooting, and stabbing pain.6 There is usually a trigger point which responds to light tactile, but not painful, stimuli. Pain is not provoked by thermal stimulus and local anesthetic block of the trigeminal nerve is effective in arresting the pain. Other neuralgias include glossopharyngeal and post-herpetic neuralgia.
Pain is an abhorrent feeling that is transported to the brain by sensory neurons. The symptoms of displeasure act on potential injury to the body. Although saying that pain is more than a feeling or the actual
Pain is uncomfortable feeling and unpleasant experience that occurs due to actual or potential injury or tissue damage (Merskey & Bogduk, 1994). The intensity and type of pain are related to injury, headache, disease and different harmful conditions, and pain is usually solved if the causes are solved. Pain is often the major phenomena in most medical problems, which need immediate assistance (Turk & Dworkin, 2004). Pain is always subjective and it exists when the experiencing person says it is. Some people experience a different response to the same type of pain, so it depends on the person tolerance level (McCaffrey & Beebe, 1989).
Pain is subjective, caring for patients in pain can be very challenging especially those patients with a severe debilitating persistent illness. Several factors determine a patient’s tolerance and management of pain which include, age, cultural background, causative agents, and psychological issues with the patient. At several occasions through my nursing experiences have cared for several patients in pain, have come to a belief that pain can be challenging to manage in some cases when we health care workers don’t understand different kinds of ailments and the severity of pain accompanied with them. For instance, patients suffering from sciatica nerve pains respond differently from patients suffering from a headache. At one point I cared for
Most of the time, the pain is distributed in a neurological distribution. There maybe impairment in mood, quality of life, and activities of daily living.20 Sensory deficit may present in a glove and stocking (peripheral neuropathy), dermatomal (mononeuropathy), or hemispheric (stroke) distribution. Palpation of the skin may show coolness and mottling in a neurological distribution (autonomic neuropathy).17 Depending on the history and clinical findings, work up may include chemistry profile, CBC, CRP, ESR, TSH, free T4, vitamin B1, B6, B12, RPR, HIV, Lyme titer, and ANA. One may also consider MRI, CT, EMG, nerve conduction velocity, nerve biopsy, and skin biopsy.
The sensory component of pain is when one becomes aware of the location of the pain on or within the body. The pure perception of painful stimuli activates the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex. Axons within the skin and muscles send the pain perception to the nervous system through the spinal cord. This mechanism within the brain helps a person know of an injury within the body. Pain is there to help you isolate the area that is injured. This is similar to when a person sprains their ankle. If they were to put pressure on that ankle while it is healing could lead to further damage to the area. The
An experience that medical professionals like to define in much broader terms, one that states that “Pain is whatever the patient says it is, existing wherever the experiencing person says it is” (Farrell, 2005). This definition very much emphasises how subjective in nature the whole pain experience tends to be, because it relies not only totally on the patient’s ability to self-report on their level of pain being experienced, but also on how effective their pain management interventions have been (Farrell, 2005). This important tool known as a pain assessment not only aids in making a diagnosis of a patient’s medical condition, it also gives medical staff a reliable indicator of the patient’s location of pain, its quality and intensity, onset and duration, and any measures that help to relief it (Crisp & Taylor, 2009). A failure to carry out such an assessment could result in not only in the patient suffering with unnecessary pain, but can also result in the patient experiencing symptoms such as stress, fatigue, insomnia, an inability to eat or mobilize, social isolation or depression (Crisp & Taylor, 2009). Unfortunately these particular symptoms
Physiological pain includes nociceptive or inflammatory pain; Pathological or mal-adaptive pain includes neuropathic pain. This classification could help in mechanism-based management of pain though both pains usually exist together in some proportion.
Pain can be defined in three different forms. The initial and the minimal contact with the damaging stimuli can be described as the warning for the physiological protective system. This initial stage is called the nociceptive pain. The warning system demands immediate response and causes immediate withdrawal from the painful or damaging stimulus (Woolf 1).Second type of pain is called inflammatory pain, this type of pain activates when the person feels the pain and it is necessary to heal the injured tissues. Pain tenderness and hypersensitivity reduces future risk for the damage and side by side promotes recovery (Woolf 1).The third and last type of pain is not protective in fact it is maladaptive. This is known as pathological pain.