First, pain is a sensory experience resulting from perception of action potentials in nervous system. Pain can be observed in varying strengths and forms based on factors such as past experience, stress, and anxiety. The endogenous pain system can enhance or inhibit the perception of pain based on these factors. Nociceptors are sensory receptors responsible for detecting unpleasant stimuli, and relaying that information to the central nervous system. These receptors are split into two sub groups: Aδ-fibers and C-fibers. Aδ-fibers are thinly myelinated, and have a small diameter. These fibers respond to light stimuli by having a low activation requirement and a rapid signal conduction. C-fibers are unmyelinated, with a slow conduction. These
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)
The perception of pain and the emotions that control intensity differ in individuals. Since feeling pain is somewhat adaptive, when one experiences it, he or she becomes aware of an injury and tries to remove oneself from the source that caused the injury. For this reason, pain is considered neuropathic or inflammatory in nature. Thus, when pain is the outcome from the damage caused to the neurons of the peripheral and central nervous system, then that pain is neuropathic. However, if the pain signals any kind of tissue damage, then the pain is inflammatory in nature. Due to various types of pain, the interpretation of pain by neurons and the source of that pain
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?
“Pain is much more than a physical sensation caused by a specific stimulus. An individual's perception of pain has important affective (emotional), cognitive, behavioral, and sensory components that are shaped by past experience, culture, and situational factors. The nature of the stimulus for pain can be physical, psychological, or a combination of both.” (Potter, Perry, Stockert, Hall, & Peterson, 2014 p. 141) As stated by Potter et al, the different natures of pain are dealt with differently depending on many factors. Knowing this, treating pain can be very difficult as there is no single or clear cut way of measuring it; “Even though the assessment and treatment of pain is a universally important health care issue,
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.
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
The three categories include, A-delta (Aδ) fibers, C fibers, and A-beta (Aβ) fibers. The A-delta fibers are medium lightly myelinated fibers that are stimulated by mechanonociceptors a severe mechanical deformation, or mechanothermal nociceptors which is extremes of temperature. The A-delta fibers causes reflex withdrawals before pain stimulus is induced in the body. The C fibers are small unmyelinated and are stimulated by mechanical, thermal, and chemical nociceptors. They convey the dull, aching, or burning feeling that are poorly localized and the feeling stay longer. The A-beta fiber are large myelinated fibers that transmit touch and vibration feelings but not the pain feeling. However, they play part in pain modulation (McCance & Huether, 2014).
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
Nociceptors are free nerve endings in the afferent peripheral nervous system (PNS) that selectively respond to different stimuli. The differences are related to the stimulus which they respond to and the properties of the nerve fibers associated with them. There are three types A, B and C groups based on their diameter. There are numerous types of nerve fibers that have nociceptors. These are the free endings at the
Pain can be classified based on its type. It can be acute, cancer or chronic of by pathophysiology that can either be visceral or somatic. Neuropathic pain is the pain ensuing from injury to the tissues hence causing nerve dysfunction. Neuropathic pain is therefore described as a shooting, throbbing, or cold sensation. Cancer pain can also be defined as the pain that arises from both neuropathic and nociceptive pain. It is therefore important to identify the mechanisms as well as different forms of pain considering that selective treatment helps improve the outcomes of pain control.
The International Association for the study of Pain (IASP, 2012) define neuropathic pain as a complex type of pain in the nervous system caused or initiated by its primary lesion or dysfunction. Taverner (2014) has described it as “pain without purpose” because it serves no useful signalling role and does not have any beneficial effect. There is a further definition provided by the IASP neuropathic pain special group of interest: “Pain arising as a direct consequence of a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory system” (IASP, 2010) (p.7). Many cancer disease states are related to neuropathic pain and it is often difficult to treat. Furthermore the negative impact
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
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (1979). Pain is actually the culprit behind warranting a visit to a physician office for many people (Besson, 1999). Notoriously unpleasant, pain could also pose a threat as both a psychological and economic burden (Phillips, 2006). Sometimes pain does happen without any damage of tissue or any likely diseased state. The reasons for such pain are poorly understood and the term used to describe such type of pain is “psychogenic pain”. Also, the loss of productivity and daily activity due to pain is also significant. Pain engulfs a trillion dollars of GDP for lost work time and disability payments (Melnikova, 2010). Untreated pain not only impacts a person suffering from pain but also impacts their whole family. A person’s quality of life is negatively impacted by pain and it diminishes their ability to concentrate, work, exercise, socialize, perform daily routines, and sleep. All of these negative impacts ultimately lead to much more severe behavioral effects such as depression, aggression, mood alterations, isolation, and loss of self-esteem, which pose a great threat to human society.
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